Story drabbles
by NuttersAscend
Summary: This is a dump for ideas or incomplete or currently abandoned stories for the KHR fandom which I may or may not consider making into a full-fledged work on its own. Lemme know if you wanna adopt em or adapt em.
1. Chapter 1

**Pull the wool over for Normalcy, Savior**

Heterochromatic eyes scanned the surroundings blurrily. They squinted in annoyance for being forced to participate in this charade. Instead of the countless plans he made including the work and favors he had undertaken, he and the others were forced to play cops and robbers. He was the cop, or was it 'detective' as that stupid jester coined?

His eyes took in the unfamiliar surroundings. It was as if he was in a historical museum, seeing that the room didn't have tube lights, sockets, not to mention the beds seemed rougher with the room having a reddish hue which he supposed could attribute to the wall paint not being too advanced.

The scenery outside was what he supposed was a better piece of evidence. He could see the smoke dense covering similar brick built buildings. The windows looked like blackout curtains and the table beside it had a black and white family photo. Unless this neighborhood had a particularly bad case of nostalgia, he supposed this world's time was in the 19th-20th century.

That and his bed was killing his back with how stiff it was. Technological advancements improved beds into soft cushions and he felt like the princess did when her guest rudely stuffed a pea under her bed as a test.

Too bad that in this era, only princesses had the luxury of a comfy bed. His 'boss' had also spoiled them with the imported Egyptian quilts he thought sardonically. His purple hair fell over his shoulders, reaching the length they had in his teens and he'd had to tie them mimicking the hairstyle that got him his dreaded nickname, to get them to stop interfering with his life.

The rules mentioned that the 'detective' is pretty much an observer with no particular influence to the world and the events it would shove him in, but he had to blend in with the surroundings so he needed to grasp the situation quickly.

Rokudo Mukuro walked towards the family photo and examined it, seeing a family of four. His eyes softened a little as he brushed his fingers over a girl who looked morose, but intact. His illusions or that brunette's surgery plans had no influence this time.

The two adults had strict expressions, but he had heard from Spanner during the time he and Irie got into a camera craze, that in those- he meant these times, photos took days to form and was a rare event. It made sense that they were seriously looking here.

But, the only one who thought that positively was the starry-eyed Vongola boss. But he could heed his advice that things may not be that grim, so he would stay neutral. Other than that, he couldn't feel or manifest his mist. Maybe because the current him didn't experience those experiments... yet.

No matter, he knew enough about people to manipulate them and handle himself.

How much of this was the same as his world?

The illusionist opened the door and looked around. The house, at a glance, had two rooms on the current floor and he could see the living room and the staircase from the corner of his eyes. It was pretty clean and it wasn't very noisy even though it was morning and people were hustling from what he saw from his window. He walked over to the other room to chart a floor plan and the locations of the inhabitants.

The person in the room jerked out of the bed when he opened the door. Indigo eyes looked at the intruder in alarm, before calming down and instead opted to stare at the other.

The illusionist looked around for a switch, before realizing that he had to pull the string to light up the lamp seeing that the other didn't budge towards the curtains. Nagi had been easily nervous in her teens, but that had been because of the abandonment and the hospital incident that had cost her dearly. It seemed that even things did not escalate to those levels, things weren't that great here too.

"Did mother and father say something yesterday?"

She looked at him confusedly. So they don't yell or use choice words with her regularly.

"Were they supposed to talk to me?"

In this case, it seemed that they opted to ignore her for some reason. Her sheer confusion, but her lack of stuttering with him even though she had reacted extremely when someone entered the room suggested that her relation to their parents was strained, but he was her regular companion. The room had no bookcase and was quite barren as compared to his room. There was no bookcase, no desk but had a bare table with a lamp. Her skin was not bruised and there was no trace of makeup, so nothing was hidden.

Noticing his line of sight, she smiled slightly and said,

"Don't worry, nii-san. Mother may look fierce, but she stopped her habit after you and father talked to her."

His eyes narrowed slightly at that. He chose not to comment and instead asked,

"Are you up for breakfast?"

"...No, I'm not very hungry today."

But she looked thin enough to be malnourished.

He walked downstairs and headed to the dining room with a mental note to bring breakfast over after eating. His 'father' was sitting on the table sipping coffee. The man gave a cursory glance at him before turning back to his newspaper. The floor downstairs was split into the living room, the dining room and what he supposed was the parents' room. His mom came to the table and placed his breakfast plate. They never bothered to greet him, nor spare a glance at him.

"Good morning" he decided to test a greeting.

They instinctively looked at his eyes, startled. When their eyes met his, the father scowled momentarily before he looked away giving a noncommittal grunt, while the mother's eyes looked slightly frenzied before she also quietly obviously avoided his and stuttered a greeting.

The illusionist had no obligation to stick around with them as company, so he took his plate and grabbed a bunch of fruits before leaving. There was no sound of objection, so this was considered the norm in this household, huh?

So he headed towards the staircase, noticing tagged magazines on the living room table. They were medical magazines. Who had a disease here? Nagi didn't look sickly and he didn't feel ill.

Were those two having some problem?

Those magazines weren't the typical medical magazines too. They seemed to be about neurology and psychiatry. But he couldn't investigate deeply, since he couldn't linger seeing that the other two were keeping an eye on him, despite being nervous in his presence.

He ate half of the food on his plate and opened the door to give the remaining to Chrome. Judging by her reaction to that decision, he supposed even this was considered normal.

Mukuro returned to his room, aiming to collect his thoughts. He went over his room again, this time, in greater detail. First things first, he found out from his school notebooks that he was brought here in the midst of school vacation and judging by the scribbles and post-it notes, this version of him was very diligent and serious regarding his studies. He searched for report cards to check his academics status and found that he was a typical straight A student here. He wondered about Nagi's studies but he couldn't exactly ask about it since her room was quite bereft of these materials. Did they study together? Did she go to school?

Judging by their parents' eyes on him when he was down for breakfast, he wondered if his presence downstairs was something natural? Or did they both stay holed up in their rooms or stay out?

There was something about them that made their parents cautious or dislike them, but it didn't seem like they were adopted or taken in. They shared common physical characteristics. He supposed he was slightly different because of his heterochromatic eyes, but what did Nagi do?

He heard the downstairs door creak open as shoes shuffled. Maybe the parents went out?

This was a good time to snoop around in the living room. He made his ways to the stairs, but before he descended he wondered how can he keep track if his 'sister' leaves the room or not in a day. He did not want the situation to be that she was to be holed up in that room forever. So far, he had interacted with her from her bed only. Was she ill enough to be bedridden?

His Nagi had been put in that situation because her parents had considered her a burden. Was that the case here too? His eyes narrowed to slits as he descended the staircase.

There was no one downstairs. It was a good opportunity he could not waste.

The 'game' took the span of a couple of days, at max a week, according to Checkerface.

So he needed to first figure out his situation, then his surroundings' situation. After that, he could be at the starting line to deduce who would kill whom. Luckily, they've been told that one of them, ie one of the Vongola, Millefiore or the Arcobaleno would be at the kill or be killed side.

If he failed, the one he'd have to sacrifice as part of the rules might come back at him with a vengeance when someone else becomes the cop. He will not compromise his possessions.

He looked at the magazines and the folded newspapers in the living room shelves. If they both weren't to return in some time, he could go through all the newspapers. So he decided to compromise a bit, he could carry some of the older newspapers back to the room like the dust-covered ones. Too bad these two didn't seem to hire helpers. He could have gained their schedule from them and keep their lips sealed...

But he would have to make do.

He could just read the headlines with the enlarged pictures to get the most sensational and popular news along with the ones which keep recurring. Sure they'd be exaggerated since these times were popular for their yellow journalism, but he could read between lines.

He skimmed through the most recent ones.

There was a lot of buzz about the success of Lobotomy with mentions of Antonio Egaz Moniz, and mentions of how it successfully treated the PTSD of soldiers and mentally ill patients and brought them to 'normal'. There were articles mentioning hospitals and doctors that have been practicing the technique. It was particularly easy for the Illusionist to pick these words from them since many of them had been circled and underlined- ie the hospitals and the doctors.

It seemed to remove the front part of the brain, and the Verde in his mind piped in- Prefrontal cortex and Orbitofrontal lobe, responsible for emotions. It quoted a Mr Gage and how he could live even after a pipe pierced through his frontal lobe and it quoted how if the entire frontal lobe was removed they become subdued.

Mukuro lips pursed in contemplation as he opened the magazines tagged sheets to find other articles regarding mental illness, lobotomy and its effects filled with tasteless jokes. The door opened just then, and he closed the magazine and set his expression into a slightly sympathetic expression.

He smiled and welcomed them. They looked slightly surprised, but ignored it and moved back to where they would seem to usually hang out in, the father to his room while the mother to the kitchen.

He thought that the father seemed to dislike him, so he thought he could start with the mother.

"How was the trip? Does it seem like it can be fixable?"

They looked surprised at the question. He continued,

"I had been hearing the neighbors and I was also searching for something that could help. Lobotomy has been quite the successful procedure. If all goes well, they won't ever have something so distasteful to say anymore." he smiled invitingly.

Encouraged by the smile, the mother smiled back as she excitedly replied,

"We found a good doctor for Nagi. I'm sure that after the procedure, they would stop accusing us from abusing her. We told her to calm down so many times, but she never listened."

"I tried to get her to come out for so long, but if we just left her there now they would accuse us of starving her to death. I wonder why she would put us in such an awkward position... How ungrateful."

"That's right. That girl twitched so violently when I brought my cousin's son to mingle with her. You were horrible when you forcibly brought her to her room when she started shivering on her floor."

"It was because I did not want to scare him since she seemed to start foaming. What if he spread rumors about her acting like a rabid dog?

I had always been trying to put her back to the right track. I've only lately realized that I've never given a proper explanation for my actions. I'm truly sorry about that mother.

When I saw that mother and father have been trying so hard to cure her too, I realized I have to also help support our family in our hard times."

"Mukuro, dear! I'm so glad that you have begun to see clearly. Your father always told me you could never see things the way they are with how the demons deceived you through your blood red eye. But I always had faith that the Lord wouldn't let you astray, regardless of that unfortunate birth defect."

"I'll take care that my eye will never lay its sight on the world enough to influence me, mother. I've seen the error of my ways."

He moved back to his room and brought a comb and groomed a bang to cover his blood red eye. He remembered Verde mentioning what happened to patients that underwent Lobotomy.

_"They lost their personality, their will to live and their curiosity to say the least. The frontal lobe is responsible for comprehensive thought, emotions, rational thought, and motor skills."_

_"Mukuro, that red eye of yours is not that of a demon. I personally think that it's as beautiful as that of rubies. Chrome always tells me how beautiful your eyes are" Tsuna told him, looking serious._

"I never thought I would agree with Tsunayoshi in any lifetime, but the power that came with these eyes would be a gift in this situation.

If lost lambs are under the 'lord's' protection... I'd rather have the power of a demon than be the sacrificial lamb to make this family fit in their idea of perfection."

There was no use lamenting in what could be, so he had to settle for his personal skills.

He needed to make this household to see the illusion of being 'normal', whatever that was...

* * *

The experiences in Vendicare made his opinions of humankind slightly bent in a probably bad direction. He simply couldn't believe that people can be selfless or even altruistic in their motives. Maybe they could, but probably towards people they considered 'harmless'. At least, that was what the illusionist thought when Tsuna tried to refute his beliefs by quoting his own experiences. While the mafia boss wasn't _harmless _per se, his actions were built on easily perceivable good intentions... enough to garner himself the title of 'saint'.

What Mukuro saw and what he had been made to experience, regardless of whether his past lives were real or not made him act in ways that made the boss describe him as distrustful. Yet the symptoms and thoughts associated with distrust didn't exactly apply to him. He said that he should trust his friends deeply by saying that Chrome was fiercely loyal to him as an example, but he didn't see her that way.

When he first met _Chrome, _he looked for something for a backup plan. He spoke beautiful words, hoping to slowly ensnare her into a dream where everything was going to be alright hoping to put a balm over her open wounds to heal her back to what people loved the best, stability. But she had slightly baffled him. He didn't need to continue waxing poetry, because she gripped on to him like he was the only piece of drifting log and she had been drowning. Even if he spoke the cold biting truth, even if that drifting log was set on fire, she continued to reach for it.

Even if those guardians called him ruthless for using her so naturally, even when Gokudera once snapped at him for _emotionally abusing _the lass, the victim never let herself let go of the plank. Mukuro had found that fascinating. Even when a ship went through her waters, she dared not light an SOS fire even though she had a perfectly good piece of wood she could use. She still dare not.

When he sees Chrome, when he calls her by the name the one her _dear parents _called her by and notices that smile she unwaveringly returns back to him, he felt that she was as twisted as he was. The name even Tsuna wouldn't call her by, thinking it might bring back horrible memories, the name he kept calling her by reminding her about that past...

He brought himself back to the present. He and Nagi were at the hospital right now. He had hoped to get a full check up on his sister while his parents were out just to see the full extent of damage to account for the plans he set in his mind. Right in front of him was a doctor with a familiar face and name, Sasagawa Ryohei. With the scenarios he had to conjure for missions and his own plans back there at his world, he wasn't too shocked to see the boxer older than he was. The _patient _was unusually happy to be here even though she looked at him nervously when he told her they'd be going to the hospital. But when he mentioned the name he picked from a list of doctors due to familiarity, she brightened up, so he supposed they were acquainted here. Judging by the fact that the boxer didn't even mention their parents, he guessed this was normal.

Ryohei was chattering happily about his sister's antics with Chrome and he felt that the other's sibling relationship would probably be considered as ideal. The boxer was lamenting about how his sister puffed angrily when he accidentally ate her cupcake instead of his own while their parents poked fun at her expense claiming that she needed to lose the weight from her constant sugar treats anyway. There was a small neatly boxed pastry box wrapped with a cute pink ribbon along with a small rose bouquet. It was probably a gift to appease her anger.

The world was strange. Even if they both were a family of four having the same relation tree, one sister had warm blood tying them, while the other... well the closest warmth she could get was a visit to the looney bin to check if she needed a permanent appointment. Yet, there was no envy in her eyes, as she listened in awe at the others tales.

'Ryohei probably doesn't know that his vents are fairy tales to Nagi'

It seems like even in other worlds, her views remain unchanged. Ignoring his wandering thoughts, he resumed reading through her health report, one that only he was literate enough to make sense off, while the other couldn't even recognize the characters. She lacked information, its sources and the means to utilize them. Regardless of whether it was her parents' intentions or his intentions, she will never be the master of her own destiny. Looking at Ryohei ruffling her hair while looking at her warmly, the illusionist thought,

'And this guy, who would never have the same blood flowing through her, will not have it either.'

"Mukuro, why did you need a checkup for Chrome-chan by today? You rarely push for an appointment like this. Did something happen?"

Luckily his counterpart had the reasoning to use her alias. Even if this hospital wasn't one that his parents visited; if they came here asking for a 'Nagi', that would never ring a bell for these people. They could not use their status as a 'parent' to gather information. Her medical papers wouldn't make people connect the dots.

"Nothing really. Chrome had gotten very interested in makeup products recently, so I wanted to check the condition of her skin. In fact, I wanted you to tell Kyoko-san to list them for an order."

"I'm sure you have read about the recent news regarding the enhanced makeup products right? We have been recently trying to spread awareness about how they can cause erosion and how it seems to increase the risk of skin cancer. We think that the radium used in it can lead to it. I mean, most of the factory workers have reached that end!"

"Who knows what those peasants might have eaten from the sidewalks. They drink their woes away and sleep at any nook and corner of the road. I don't even know where they have been when they come smelling like that. I think you people are mistaken regarding this.

They make the skin glow so magnificently. How can something that can do that end up shriveling one's skin?

Also if you bring disease ridden children and coop them in one place, even the good ones will rot. Not to mention, the ones you say are diseased are those in their 40s or 50s. Those ladies don't need to wear makeup since they don't get out much. Why would they?"

"Mukuro you're a smart lad, I don't think you actually buy into what the neighbor ladies speak. They're just searching for an excuse. Ah! Man! You're not even listening to me, are you?!

Chrome-chan, you must speak sense to your brother! Maybe then, he'd open his eyes..."

But she merely smiled and shook her head.

"Chrome wouldn't stop asking me for getting them. I had lost to her selfishness, especially when she threw such a cute tantrum, isn't that right Chrome?"

"Yes, onii-chan."

Even though it never happened, this girl still never showed any sign of confusion. Her reality had always been his to shape.

Ryohei looked at Chrome sternly, slightly admonishing the girl for the wish she had never made, for a _present _that she had never lived in.

"Chrome-chan, your brother might have told you many times before, but your skin is very delicate and easy to bruise. You get sick so easily and your immune system is weak. You are very pretty, so you don't need to get into the trends other people get into"

There is no envy when one never goes out in the first place.

"You have difficulty breathing, and I worry about you living amongst all the pollution. This district rains black rain sometimes which people have reported to smell and taste like the soot from the factories, and you would need to wear those stuffy corsets when walking outside.

Kyoko complains to me when wearing those that she can't even take a deep breath and it makes me worry about how you cope in this atmosphere..."

"Don't worry Sasagawa-san. I can manage with it, so there should be no problems."

Seeing how firm the lass was with her decision, the doctor was stuck on fulfilling her wish or looking out for her own good.

"Okay... I'll let Kyoko send you the makeup, but you have to promise me to let me know or stop using them if there's even a little discomfort after using them. Don't push yourself, you hear me? Your health is what's most important."

he gripped her hand and told her seriously.

"Mukuro, making your sister happy is important. But there are times where you have to stay firm, especially if it can harm her."

"I know."

Through the conversation, a rare look of reluctance and unease stayed on Ryohei's expression. Neither of the two siblings offered any word of comfort or reassurance to the boxer. The session ended with the other reminding the two over and over again about the one-sided promises that they never verbally agreed to. It almost seemed like his sister had an inkling of what the illusionist had in store for her.

But he never bothered to look deeply into it.

* * *

Chrome was a doll in the parent's eyes. She was a broken, useless doll they wanted to abandon. But they couldn't since she was _alive_. He pondered about it when they both reached her room back in the house they were to call their home. But she had always been a perfect doll, willing to masquerade in any image he would give her. Back then, she had been draped in his illusions to become a complete human. Right now, she would allow herself to be draped in radioactive chemicals to become a beautiful doll that could be the family trophy. He would make sure of that.

After all, there was no such thing in the lonely white-walled abode of the crazy.

He applied the shiny rouge on her cheeks, and he wondered when will the rouge turn blood red as they merged into what they were used on. Chrome gave him the keys to her chains, the keys that her parents abandoned and the ones he never relinquished. She guarded her chains like they were her precious golden bracelets and even if someone as kind as the Vongola boss offered her release from their heavyweight, she didn't bother to even look at the hand offered. The smiles she offered at the phantom pain from her restored parts was the proof.

He took the finished masterpiece and brought her down gently to the living room, a place she was implicitly banished from ever returning only to be gawked at by her parents.

"Mother, Nagi wanted to show you her new look. Come now, don't be shy."

Nagi fearfully came out from his shadow, her quietness no longer unsettling and her evasiveness emphasizing her image as a delicate, frail beauty. This girl was a stranger to them.

"This child truly can't be helped. Even though you were so excited to impress mother and father. When you're actually going to show them, you hide behind me."

The lass was petrified with fear, remembering every admonishment and rejection to her every advancement. But her only pillar of support was pushing her towards her fear.

She peeked out from his shadow from his slight nudges, making her look like a cute rabbit.

With him narrating her every action in a different light he painted a different first impression to last while they were baffled.

Based on their appearance a silent person could be interpreted as graceful and serene, or as unsettling and creepy. It was also one of the reasons why he gave Chrome her missing organs back, even as an illusion. She needed weapons to fight.

Even though the company wasn't exactly desired, Sasagawa Kyoko and Miura Haru had taught him that makeup was a woman's battle armor.

They four were strangers tied by blood. The illusionist and his sister were the dolls under their ownership. If he didn't make it that way, they would become actual dolls after the treatment. Even as dolls, they could be separated by a dimension as living vs. nonliving, since none of their decisions would ever affect the other.

Nagi was a pitiful girl. She will be forced to choose between getting murdered by her feared parents or her beloved brother, whether spiritually or physically.

When the weekend ended, the illusionist could see that her new appearance had made her more tolerable to their benefactors. She could continue with her behavior but be treated entirely differently by the people before her. The parents boasted to the guests while they appreciated her change and complimented her excessively. People are indeed only skin deep.

When Mukuro was starting to relax while seeing his plan bearing fruits, a particular family was invited to their abode -the Sawadas.

Tsunayoshi sat near Chrome while their parents chattered and the illusionist supposed that the brunette was nervous seeing her change and unable to talk to her now that she looked prettier, seeing how awkward he was around Sasagawa Kyoko at this age back in his world. He would keep glancing at her before abruptly turning away if their eyes ever met and his ears turned red hot. Mukuro snickered quietly before moving the two back to his room to give the adults some privacy.

When he shut the door behind them, Tsuna's first words were,

"Nagi-chan, are you alright?"

He didn't even bother with any greetings nor did he speak any of the compliments the illusionist had been tallying so far. When Mukuro looked at Chrome, he saw that she had indeed been sweating slightly and she looked like she was somewhat in pain. Tsuna didn't bother with asking for permission and immediately brought a towel and wiped her makeup away, breaking the spell he cast to make her a Cinderella.

The illusionist looked nervously at the door when the other did that and bristled at the perceptiveness of the Vongola boss. When he looked back at his sister, he saw her skin getting rashes and pimples forming. It seemed like she had an allergic reaction to the makeup. It was of no surprise since he had made her wear it the whole day, from morning to night for 3 days now.

He stood close to the door and looked at how Nagi's shoulder's sagged with relief now that it was washed away. When he saw that Tsuna had planned to say something about this situation, he sent the other a warning glare, but the brunette ignored it blatantly and continued.

"You should stop using that makeup if it hurts from using it. It looks like its only rashes and pimples right now, but onii-san told me that it could potentially stop you from breathing by blocking your pores."

"She's not a dog Tsunayoshi. She doesn't need to breathe and cool down from her skin. She has a nose and a mouth for that."

"Why are you encouraging this Mukuro?! I thought you would be the first one to stop her if she did something that could potentially hurt her."

''Mukuro-nii san is not bad. I wanted to use the makeup."

"You don't have to cover for him, Nagi-chan. You told me before that you never liked makeup because of how uncomfortable it made you."

"I can change my opinion too, you know."

The illusionist looked at his sister with slight confusion since she looked slightly defensive at his comments.

"But it's not good for you. Look at what it has done to your face. Not to mention, you looked very uncomfortable in it. I don't know why you insist on using it, if it does this to you and it doesn't even seem that Mukuro knew that things went this far."

It seemed like at the time he slipped his guard down in surprise, Tsuna read off him. He hurriedly grasped his composure but was cut off by his sister.

"Nothing has gone wrong yet. Onii-san was just helping me, so stop blaming him."

"I've not said anything to him."

"Then don't look at him like that. You know, onii-san just cast magic on me. For these two days, Mother and father gave me lots of sweets, hugged me and praised me. We went out, and people complimented me. When they brought guests, they told me to come over and praised me, and the others agreed.

I didn't have to stay in my room the whole day, and they even kept inviting me downstairs to play crossword puzzles with dad or talk with mom and her friends. They kept smiling at me, and they forgave me when I accidentally broke a plate. They even put a really cute bandage over the cut" she spoke in a drunken daze with a wide wobbly smile.

The caged bird might have gotten drunk out of its first taste of freedom. But Tsuna's grave look suggested that he thought otherwise.

She wanted to live the life of a firework. But Mukuro refused to reason with Nagi, so Tsuna decided to take up the mantle in his steed.

"Nagi-chan, onii-san and I don't like seeing you in pain because we love you very much. We don't need you to wear makeup because we think you are very charming even without it and nothing can enhance it further since it's not possible to be more exquisite than you are naturally.

You're a great listener and your smiles can light up the darkest rooms. You've stayed by our side thick and thin, and it would be devastating to lose you. I've seen people who use makeup without a break and it can cause your skin to crack, then wrinkle and make you age faster. It can darken your skin color, make it dry and sensitive to pain and infection.

You get sick quickly, so there are chances you might get a terrible illness by wearing that makeup, and I know you didn't tell onii-san, but you and Mukuro are paying for the medical bills without your parents even knowing about it right? You won't even accept my help in that matter...

Not to mention, you wearing a corset and you have difficulty breathing through it. I swear, your skin was turning blue when we were sitting in that seat. Please tell me, why are you guys doing this?" Tsuna looked at the two of them, slightly heartbroken. He looked directly at Mukuro's covered red eye, but Mukuro was observing Chrome. She seemed torn between heeding Tsuna's advice and continuing following his implicit instructions. Well, that won't do. She was always weak against Tsuna. The Vongola boss could sweet talk any of them into doing whatever he wanted, even if that wasn't his intention.

"Tsunayoshi, you shouldn't stick your head into things you can't fully commit to. Do you want her to be stuck in this empty room for an entire day, now that they would call her a monster by looking at her?"

Chrome looked at her terrified at the notion while Tsuna glared at him and said,

"Mukuro! How can you even say that?! She's got rashes from an allergic reaction, and it will only get worse if you force her to wear it. Besides, it's only rashes! She's not a monster, she will never look like one!"

"Please don't tell me you're blind to how my parents look at her. You've been a regular visitor. You've definitely noticed how they changed how they treated her. What, do you think they'll love her new appearance?"

Chrome stepped in to reassure the brunette,

"Tsuna-kun, don't worry. The makeup can hide the rashes and the pimples."

"It won't stop at rashes, it will tear up your skin eventually and even lead to hair loss you know. This is only a temporary solution. You guys are delusional!"

They didn't have the title of mist guardian for nothing, Mukuro thought sardonically. Chrome continued with a manic look in her eyes,

"They have plastic surgery if it burns my skin out. If it comes to that, I can always use a wig."

Tsuna looked dismayed at how she didn't seem to face reality,

"...If you keep replacing everything about you,... how will I find Nagi-chan anymore?"

It was like the Theseus ship, if they kept replacing the ship's parts with other replacements which ship, the old or the new one was actually Theseus' ship?

Chrome looked away from Tsuna, not willing to acknowledge his question. Her room had different gifts that ranged from nail polish to jewelry to lipsticks to eye-shadows and blushes that made her previously bereft room glitter richly. It made her gawk under its beauty, and feel greedy under the spotlight every time she tried a new look. Her room had been so dark, and she felt like she didn't even exist unless her brother or Tsuna visited that she didn't want to change her current life.

Even if she didn't understand what the others were gawking about, she could do something to exert her presence and make them notice her.

She muttered,

"I don't want to be alone again."

The brunette tried again,

"Nagi chan, you don't have to do this to yourself. You'll never be alone. We'll be by your side-"

"Why Tsunayoshi, with how you two keep telling her to stop it seems like you will stop staying by Nagi if she continues her new hobby."

The illusionist's words served as a catalyst to turn his shaken sister to stare unbelievingly at the brunette, while the other looked frustrated at his intervention.

"That's not it-"

"Did you perhaps get scared of Nagi's look after you forced her to wash it off? I wonder if you would have screamed if we met a week or two later?" he drawled as he comfortingly patted his sister's cheek to show her that he would never get scared of however she looked, to build camaraderie.

"I said that's not it! Mukuro stop screwing around!-"

"Say, what do you think would happen if her skin remained this way or got worse? Maybe there would be people who would pity her, but pity alone won't help make a friendship or a romance. Tell me, can you embrace a rotting corpse?

You must be blind to accept someone regardless of their physical appearance.

Or what, you think our parents would suddenly dote on us for being ourselves? What even constitutes individuality anyway? What do you consider when you say Nagi should be herself? Is a Nagi that loves makeup a Nagi that has lost herself? Or did you like her when she had nobody else but us three? What's so wrong if she changes herself to fit in with society?

Or can you say you'd protect her from the world? Are you going to adopt us? Are you going to save us from our cruel parents? How are you even going to support us? You don't have any power."

In this world, even if he didn't have mist flames, he could still make an illusion, even if his props were real-world items.

Around this time, there was no law for child abuse, and there was no way their prideful parents could bear the shame of abandoning their children or giving their custody to someone else.

"...Mukuro, if things are that bad... Just give me some time. I'll definitely help you guys." Tsuna told him, and he could have sworn there was a golden gleam over his eyes.

Tsuna didn't ask why he needed to go this far. He didn't pry, not that he would ever tell him what was going on here.

He clicked his tongue, hating himself for being hopeful for even a split second. After all, one of them would die by the end of this week and 4 days have passed.


	2. Chapter 2

**A puppet master of a Vigelante**

Sawada Tsunayoshi was 20-year-old brunette who took up the mantle of being the boss of a vigilante corporation. He sat at his desk reading through the various case briefs underlying the current progress of the missions that his team had undertaken. His room consisted of bookshelves and cupboards aligned with books on law, forensics, local culture and language with the occasional novels in different tropes. Strangely enough, there were superhero comic books and the manga he had read during his childhood days, ones he couldn't bear throwing away. Most of the room's clutter was shifted to his left, and the stuff on his right were the ones that he personally had little to no stake with. His subordinates were quite considerate of his situation, even though most of them never made anything apparent, knowing that he disliked such gestures.

'They're not fooling anyone. I'm no saint. I wish they'd get it through their thick skulls already. How pointless.'

He forcibly willed those thoughts away and moved his face to the next page. Rokudo Mukuro considered his way of reading overly exaggerated, even if he couldn't really help it. His left eye couldn't shift to the center of his forehead to give him that 180-degree view after all. He could just become the Cyclops that he virtually was already. His marble-y right eye jiggled a little in his socket, so as to agree with him. Anyways,

Case studies and profiles were stored in a place hidden from prying eyes. They were confidential after all. Gokudera Hayato, his supposed right-hand man, and his tech support team had been pushing to digitize the more recent cases so that their enemies wouldn't burn their archives or steal or distribute the physical medium's contents through a breakthrough. He argued that they could redirect the costs from personnel and infrastructure towards security, albeit cyber-security, and mobility. Tsuna took his hands out of that debate that the right hand had regularly with Yamamoto Takeshi and Hibari Kyoya since the latter two preferred more a traditional and hands-on approach to handling issues. Well, he'd stay as neutral as he could before his mentor, Reborn forces a gun in his throat and make him become the arbitrator and judge for the issue.

Though the company he kind of heads could make him seem like a success story in these hard times, he didn't feel like it held a lick of truth. They have the reputation of a vigilante in the Mafia ruled streets of Italy, but he originally started shop as a private investigator. At that time it felt like it was a good idea since the locals had simple worries like lost cats and possible infidelities. It seemed like it was a shoo-in for a guy who spent his whole life on the sidelines observing and loitering around. Things just went downhill from then on and that makeshift office which part-timed as his 1BHK run down room in a fairly shady street evolved into a legitimate company with slightly shady boundaries and tie-ins. He personally didn't do stuff like take the government and the mafia famiglia laws into his own hands or make plagiarized versions that suited his purpose. On the instances he did, his hands were forced. He did not take the vigilante mantle, no siree.

As he grumbled while signing documents, his door slammed open revealing an immaculately dressed man in a black suit and fedora laced with a yellow ribbon. He was called Reborn, and the introduced man marched into the office intent on dragging the shut-in out for some beautiful sunshine. As he moved closer, he scowled at the 'boss' who was lounging on his desk with baggy eyes and adorned in a parka...? a hoodie? no, a cat-eared hoodie that Lambo had haphazardly left behind and completely forgotten about. The leatherback chair that he had ordered for ergonomic purposes like correcting the eternal slouch that brunette posed in and for developing character lay abandoned somewhere in the center of the room, all dusty. It seemed like the only thing sitting on it on a regular basis were trinkets and books.

His good mood dampened and Tsuna sat straight up, sensing the dark mood. The dissatisfied hitman came closer, only for the details of the wreckage to sear into his cornea. The cat-parka had ramen stains, with cups of ramen hiding under the brunette's desk, like his mistress hiding away from the furious wife that caught him in the act. Worse, there was no water heater in the room, so it meant that he had been using his hot bath water to boil and cook the ramen. There was also a slight stench aside from the ramen makeshift perfume that rubbed on to the boss due to over-consumption. It seemed like the ramen and instant noodles were the only things taking a bath in his room. He had fit a bathroom and a bedroom to the office because this idiot wouldn't walk for 5 minutes to freshen up or perform daily human functions. They had automatic functions like filling themselves up every single day and having an assembly of soap, shampoo etc that were so assembled that if he would just open the door they would fling themselves at him in a sort of in your face gesture. Giannini had created more extreme versions like bathroom trays with humanoid hands that would screech open from the bathroom and grab him and drag him into the room and clean the lad with roomba like leech brushes that the bot could launch at him. He was currently tempted to use the system.

His eyes glanced at the bedroom, which was so pristine its handles had cobwebs weaved on it. His twitchy eyes then focussed on the phone that had a direct line to the kitchen to create homemade, handmade (literal and legitimate human hands to prepare the meals) food that were infinitely healthier than the junk circled around the brunette like they were performing a ritual and he swore to go-

"Reborn! I heard that you were going to return day after tomorrow. You could have given me a missed call or text or something. I would have prepared something to welcome and escort you back-"

"And give you enough time to hide and destroy the evidence? I don't think so, dame-Tsuna. With how clearly _occupied_ you were here, I should have filed an MIA for you.

I've noticed you've sent the only somewhat responsible people that could whip you into shape away for missions. You've truly outdone yourself once again. You would have gotten away with it if I didn't notice something fishy going on and visited you.

Bet you'd only be more disappointed once they return from their missions with a resounding success."

He moved towards the brunette and lifted him from the seat using his collar like a cat,

"Oww, Reborn quit that. I'm choking here. You just have to say the word and I'll follow it. Hasn't that been true since we've met?!"

The former-hitman snorted and said,

"I'm surprised you didn't have mushrooms growing all over you and your chair. Hibari should call you a plant rather than a herbivore.

Anyway, get your ass up. It's a beautiful day outside, birds are singing and the sun is shining. So the company's beloved president should show his face around, and not become this place's goddess Amaretsu. Now dress up and let's head out."

When Tsuna heard that, his face immediately turned pale. Reborn had his ways of getting back on people, or perhaps it was a way of getting him used to the spotlight or something... but, the issue was, with a closet like that, anyone would want to wither away in their room.

It started out as his walk-in closet with very garish clothes that evolved into Reborn's hideout. It made sense in retrospect since Reborn's disguises were like _that, _so he had no business questioning his fashion sense-

"Dame-Tsuna, don't forget the reason why these clothes range from frilly dress shirts and pink suits to clothes like matador suits with sombreros and goth clothes. You're still pulling the same stunts. Ordinarily, it should have been the secretary that organizes your schedules... but you've made them read out daily speeches and goals, stand on the frontlines of raids and interviews for magazines, hideout break-ins etc. You even so far as making that lad wear the Armani that I _ordered you _to wear, fitted with a brown wig and amber contact lens. You even hired the man since he sounded like you. Now, even if he's slightly taller than you, people in the company recognize him as the boss!

It's obvious that I would move to make you regain your damn identity!"

"You made me wear a dress shirt with a psychedelic suit and clown shoes with an afro last time. And before that, you made me wear an army suit with a feathery boa shawl on top of that!"

"But they understood that you were the actual boss from that."

"I sure was flamboyant wearing that, what do you figure?! What about the gap when I'm in my everyday clothes? It's like the width of the Pacific ocean that they can't associate me with the person you make me frolic as..."

"In a sense, you are like a Nurarihyon..."

"What good does associating the head of a vigilante with the head of hyakki yagyo yokai do for me...

Those clothes are uncomfortable as heck anyway."

"I'm not making you wear a corset and Chinese bindings am I? So, stop whining.

Or do you want your first cross-dressing debut?"

"It's not anything new anyway. I've been using it for the ol' honeypot strategy..."

"...publicized?"

Tsuna shuddered and squeaked.

"Anything but that, Reborn.

There were those in the missions that wanted a double suicide with me. And some of them, have put up a search that's going on even now. It had been 5 years and they won't give up. In the worst cases, they send _me _poems and stockings, proposing that I should act like_ a loved one they had _lost for a fee or for cooperation.

What would those nut cases do?"

"Ahh, beauty is truly a sin. Either way, you had your own fun in those missions."

"Well, women rarely wear something like those... and I was kinda curious..."

"It was to be a man's fantasy for a reason, ya know? What did you think would happen when they saw the self-fulfilling prophet right in front of 'em? You reap what you sow. "

Just then, two burly men entered the room with baskets of sakura petals. They towered silently in front of the brunette.

Tsuna jerkily turned towards Reborn who brought out the velvet suit with a black vest that his doppelganger was wearing that day. The latter smirked cockily as he filled the idiot on the last minute plan.

"I figured that the boss needs to reclaim his position instead of getting overthrown."

He interrupted any further objections with a pointed look and said,

"If you let things go as they are, well, with your history and capabilities there exists a much better profession that can suit you."

The easy-going smile on the face of the brunette vanished, leaving behind a morose-looking man. He moved gracefully towards the observer and smoothly wore the suit together and left the room. There was no palpable tension, just the widening of the smirk into a Cheshire grin.

"Atta boy."

When they entered the assembly room, the attendant showed a look of confusion at the original whose path was marked with a trail of petals. The guards had been meticulously showering the lad with petals all the way from the room to the assembly. In fact, they hadn't stopped. A proud smile and a harsh expression broke out in Tsuna's face and the secretary couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"You've got quite a large amount of guts, masquerading as me when you're my direct subordinate."

He catwalked towards the hapless lad, and using a single finger, tilted the other's face to forcibly make their gazes meet.

"For a hired doppleganger, you shouldn't be so scared. Why, shouldn't it be the other way around?

Your contractor even came up with the far fetched idea of slowly but certainly replacing my existence and quietly gaining a pawn for themselves.

Pity that you're just a contracted hitman. It gives him the power to easily cut ties with you without any consequences for himself." his voice was akin to that of a purr.

But with each word, his copy's pallor grew paler and paler.

"Are you going to throw the towel already?

Are you satisfied with just being used and thrown away?"

The brunette's eyes turned gold as the guy's eyes slowly gained focus with the hidden proposal.

"You know, you've been rather helpful with managing my schedule. I could do my work, despite the various traps your boss laid out for me to bury me six feet under.

In fact, you've been so helpful that I'm willing to let you _keep_ the information you've snooped out by living my daily life.

But... I'll need you to do me a favor. How does being a triple agent sound like for you?

It's a less risky option for you, since what happens here and what you get from the boss will be a secret between the two of us. It'll be a private deal between the vigilante boss and you, so you don't worry about anyone from our organization doing any retaliation against you.

Plus you get information from our side. What do you say?"

There was only one answer for the double agent. It was definitely an act of 'mercy'.

And thus, the boss of the Vigilante got himself another pair of ears and eyes, being bugged enough for the brunette to essentially slip into the skin of another person.


	3. Chapter 3

**Alice in Wonderland based AU**

In a strange world where the manifestation of wills was used as a weapon to gain territories, power, wealth, fame and the right to succession to greatness... there was no choice of freedom.

Isn't it ironic? This world held no choice for those destined for power. Throughout worlds and parallel worlds, a white-haired, cat-eyed child with the deposition of an angel sat on an armchair holding a wine glass, as a toast to his comrades in this eternal world

He was the Cheshire cat- that obvious, seeing the lying mischief, madness or was it malice? in those eyes of his. His smiling face let nothing show. He was very dubious, but like the character, he was to portrait... he was wise to the world he lived in

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

**ALICE ,ALICE WHERE ARE YOU?**

There are desires people have regarding their brief, fleeting lives

_'Ah... It'd be nice if I could **turn back time and do things over**'_

_'What if I was born as ...'_

_'What if I made another decision that time... I wouldn't be **suffering**! I **wouldn't be regretting** it so much now...'_

"_**Please give me another chance**_"

The boy sneered at those who begged for the wish... to return. But it wasn't like he didn't understand

In the pure white room he was currently in, the blood red wine contrasted with the tables, walls, curtains, cushions, sofas, flowers, the chandelier and all the other expensive items present in the room. He smiled to himself

The worlds he'd seen had the characters playing the game appear again and again. But they settled their conflicts and differences and lived until they died peacefully. He and the invitee, Alice were always playing against each other. It was a fun game that extended infinitely parallel-ly. They basically played gods, with the world at stake. Now isn't that fun? He met different Alices. It was so much fun to see that despair shrouding that angelic face turning completely pale (His favorite color). Some of them directed those blazing golden eyes furiously at him, anger and vengeance filled with the loss against him (The losing dog's howls).

"_Why did you this? What's your goal? Why can't we settle this peacefully?! Hasn't this pointless war gone far enough?!"_

"_Why do you seek the rings? You can't wield them at all and you should know that"_

"_I'll never hand over the rings. The Vongola will never surrender!"_

"_I hope that this discussion will stop this bloodshed and that we can peacefully settle our differences"_

"_Damn you Byakuran! How dare you hurt my dear family?!_

_You don't even have a proper reason!_

_You're treating this as a Vongola hunting season!_

_What kind of sport is this to you?! What fulfillment do you get by doing this? I said that I'll surrender those rings to you! And you promised not to touch them! You've murdered them all! Why?!"_

It was beautiful...

Seeing the man with the strongest will fall onto his knees with his eyes dimmed of all its light.

It felt like a worthwhile reward for an interesting match. They- Alices did interesting things, with their eyes blazing gold. They all stood against him, claiming his ways were wrong.

* * *

There was only one of them that won against him, it was basically a one-sided battle until then. The twist was initially unwelcome, but later it was so sweet that the Byakurans from the other worlds had no regrets or dissatisfactions

'In the end, we were humans, who didn't want to change' he cackled at the term he used to describe himself

But_ this_ Alice didn't want to play anymore

"Boo~ Alice is such a spoilsport! He just wants to know the answers now! Even though it's the journey that makes the riddles interesting! It's never the destination~" He whined sulkily at the walls, pouting and jerked the glass forward

The wine dripped onto the floor, staining the carpet

Then the doors slammed open and the intruder gaped at the scene in front of him

"Young master, you're too young to drink!"

It was the family butler, who looked at the attendant rushing in after him

"Oi! Was it you who showed him where the wine cellar was!?"

"Sebastian, you're the one who told them to hide it in unoriginal places" Byakuran deadpanned, frowning over how overused was the setting of a butler with the name of Sebastian

"Master, how is it common to keep the wine in the horse shed?!" the butler asked baffled

"And how common is it to see a frigid horse shed? Sebastian, the horses are going to die" he drawled, bored

And the color drained from the butler's face at the realization

Byakuran smirked widely

"You know... father _loves_ his horses, even more than mother. He'd definitely have had married them if the laws about Beastiality wasn't there~ And here you are, making frozen popsicles out of them~"

"...I'll lift the ban on marshmallows" the butler sighed, having got used to being puppeteer-ed by the young child

"As expected of Sebastian. You catch on fast"

He looked at the sky peaking out of the curtains when his attendants left with the wine glass

'I wonder what you're going to do this time, Tsunayoshi-kun. Keep me entertained as always... _Alice_'

* * *

Nana Sawada was worried. Her son never kicked her stomach and it frightened her to think that her child might be ...dead. So it left her paranoid and made her try making her lifestyle more healthy -by eating healthy foods and exercising regularly. She turned into the perfect slim beauty and developed an obsession- get the baby to kick somehow.

So the house was half filled with books on keeping a baby healthy and baby psychology(How on earth did they even find how the baby behaves on certain situations), the other half filled baby gifts bought by the doting husband -Iemitsu

The wife became very paranoid in the sense that she became the regular customer for the gynecologist. The meetings went something like this

"Sawada-san, nice to see you again. He's still not kicking?"

"Sawada-san, think positively. He might really like you, so he's not kicking you"

"Sawada-san... I promise you, he's living, just resting. I promise! No, I'm not lying. What would I gain from doing that? Hey, listen to someone when they're talking to you. He's living and he'll be living. He's way too healthy for a baby. I'm serious!

What's your secret, Sawada-san? I've never seen a baby this healthy. What do you mean "I'm the one asking the questions not the other way around?!"

"...Sawada-san, I think you've gone research level on this. I'm surprised at the information you have on the subject. Wait, some of this stuff isn't even on the PhDs. More like how did you get these women to comply to participate in these experiments? ...Don't give me that angelic smile in this situation. It scares me

... So, can I publish this? It seems like a waste to just leave it around. Psychological, physical and mental behaviors... I'd like to ask how did you get a lab and how much time did you spend on this... But I'm scared of that smile, so I'll not question it"

"...Sawada-san, you know about this more than I do. You know that the baby is healthy"

Nana had _persuaded_ Iemitsu to get her a lab after reading through the various books regarding babies and asking the topics from them she didn't get, in a rather sly manner to her gynecologist.

Details, details... basically, mothers can be scary when it comes to their children

"Tch, another dead end. Tsunayoshi-kun, mama won't give up on you kicking!"

**Meanwhile, in Italia, shady books lie on Iemitsu's table**

'Reasons why your significant other won't hurt you'(Sensible people do not write about why people do not want to kick you or why a baby won't kick you)

'The Art of Kicking'

'Kickboxing'

'Vital points which aren't dangerous when kicked'

Oregano and Lal looked at each other after seeing the title

"Is Nana-san playing the queen?"

"I didn't want to know what their kink was! And Oregano! How do you even know the terms used in S&M?!"

Seeing Oregano blush, she looked pale

'I didn't want to come to this realization...

I'd rather be ignorant! Are all Mafia masochists?!'

She remembered Colonello blush and hang out with her even though she abuses him verbally and physically and shuddered

'Was I encouraging that idiot without knowing he was a masochist?!'

* * *

It was finally the fateful day (Tsuna's birth). Nana was burning and Iemitsu had come to cheer his wife on. She was going to get her son out of there(cough cough her hole cough cough). After spending countless number of days analyzing why he didn't try to come out, Iemitsu had given a rather simple solution to his wife's perpetual problem

"Maybe, our son doesn't really want to come out. He seems to have both our stubbornness too. Hahaha... ha ha..."

More like he was getting scared of seeing his wife turn into a Verde clone. It became more unsettling when Verde had to visit them for business purposes and nodded in approval on seeing countless papers and books open with words circled and notes and clips of news hanged in a makeshift clothes hanger

She looked like she had reached Nirvana and then beamed at him. But what she had spoken, nearly gave him a heart attack

"Oh, honey, I never realized that it was that simple. _Then... we'll just have to get him out, right?_"

'Son, we've never met... But I'll tell you this when you're of an age to think and remember stuff. You played a great impact on us even when you weren't even in this world!'

"_**Right?**_"

"Right! Anything for my beautiful precious wife!"

"Iemitsu, honey, you say the sweetest things!"

* * *

The surgeons felt cold sweat, both from the glares from the father and the mother of the baby to come. They were used to the glares from the wives when they made her push the baby out... but these guys seemed to serious about getting the kid out

"Doctor, I hope my baby will be delivered successfully? I trust that your **skills** will definitely bring that result"

"Y-yes" the doctor said pressurized by the father. Well that's obvious since said father was the top gun in the Mafia

The glint from the wife's eyes when she forced her kid out would never be forgotten by the doctors and nurses. Oh, the cry of agony the baby gave out was next in that list

"Waaaaaaah!"

"Hush, hush, my child. Honey, what do we name him?"

"Tsunayoshi*?" Iemitsu said and muttered "I was thinking of bringing in a rope to drag the kid out, he needs all the luck 'cos I feel sorry that the kid was having such a good dream (Even though the said dream was nine months long!) and it feels like we interrupted it"

Nana heard the mutter and replied murmuring

"I feel bad about it too, Iemitsu. Don't you think this kid is going to be like this for this life"

The parents stared exasperatedly at the whining kid

When they saw that the kid was trying to go back in, they panicked and brought a ruckus in the room with the doctors trying to pull the baby away and Iemitsu trying to keep the kid away from Nana

"I get that you want to sleep in a comfy place, but stop trying to get inside Nana. She's my wife, she's taken!"

"Iemitsu, what are you doing getting jealous of a baby like that?!"

"But Nana~"

"Honey, you're the only one for me"

"Darling!"

The surgeon finally got tired of everything- the murderous lovesick couple and their kid and their drama

"You can save your flirting for later. If your son has an obsession for going into wombs- god that sounds so wrong- how about we keep him here for a week? He must have grown big enough to never fit inside"

It was agreed and the surgeon just wished he'd have his normal boring days back. He was so sorry he was complaining about how monotonous his life was

His life had enough excitement. Nothing more was needed. He wasn't going to keep an application for chaos open

**Thus another cycle begins and Alice despairs being the one and only invitee to wonderland**

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

**Struggles always happen over skies**

Sawada Nanu looked fed up, with all her limitless patience. She knew that her son was a real piece of work during their 9 month long relationship, but seeing him grow faster than what was normal wasn't what brought her trouble

Sawada Tsunayoshi was a bright child who could learn how to crawl and toddle in five months. That was already considered prodigy-level. He could seemingly understand what was being told to him, and that was a bit eerie to say...

But that wasn't what irritated the young mother. At first, she thought it was just her imagination, but seeing it occur so frequently... it just justified her thoughts

Her cute little son loved going into dark spaces, particularly holes.

Buckets, wall gaps, tunnels, pipes, anything with a hole-you name it and he'd go into it. She had to resist hitting her honey over the head for any comments implicating any hole loving. Even though she knew that he meant no harm, but the context... (She hoped that one day they'll look back on it and laugh. Now she was thinking maybe they'll look back on this and say that's where it started)

"Honey, you'd better not think too much on it. Everyone's got quirks. It's just that our son has a thing for anything with a hole"

"Iemitsu, _you better shut up right now_"

It first seemed like an honest slip into something, and she'd chalked it up to clumsiness. But when she held her hands with that precious treasure of hers, it seemed to be drawn like a magnet to the nearest pit. Plus he was slippery as a snake. Once her neighbor had commented on it

"Ohoho. Nana-san, your child is so clumsy. It's rather cute how he tumbles into something or the other. But I shouldn't be saying that since your child gets hurt easily "

'II was holding his hand the whole time. But no! When there's a hole near him, he **must** fall into it! What kind of person wants to go get hurt voluntarily?! Even though he's so graceful when there's no hole nearby. Does he want to get hurt by holes only?!'

The rather confused mother made her equally confused father(confused by her antics) deal with the situation rather strangely

"_Iemitsu... you're a family man now and your wife has a lot to deal with. It's her first child. And I know that you love your wife a lot..." Lal looked uneasy. The woman didn't want to bring up this topic ... heck, she didn't want to even deal with this, but..._

_What lied on the table of her boss, the Young Lion of the Vongola- were books of questionable nature(again. Where did Iemitsu get this stuff)_

'_The Science of holes'_

'_What makes holes so fascinating'_

'_Holes everywhere'_

'_Life is hole-ish'_

"_But give your poor wife a break. I know you must be going through a lot of sexual frustration... But keep it to a limit dammit!"_

Sawada Nana reached a conclusion one day. Facing her life partner, she spoke with confidence

"Dear, what do you think about S&M?"

The poor guy spluttered and turned beet red

"W-What?!"

"Our dear Tsu-kun loves getting hurt by holes and that much is obvious by looking. It seems like he's going to the path where he can only partner with a sadistic hole having partner! And I'd be damned if my son goes there! I have no qualms about his preferences, but I don't want to see my poor baby get hurt!"

Iemitsu always thought that the strange new addition to their family would bring changes to his family... But this was getting ridiculous

First, his wife goes and gets a PhD on baby psychology because he refused to budge (kick more like it)

Second, her daily texts are more likely to kill him than him getting shot by an enemy. He can't even remember the last time he read through one of her texts without choking on coffee

Third, now his wife suspects him to be iron to magnet, holes being the magnet

'And last weak you threatened me to stop that line of thought! And here you are accusing our son to be a masochist. And how can his preferences even be set at this age'

He looked dubiously at the child resting on his wife's lap

'Unless... he really is a prodigy... Though I have mixed feelings if this is what he's specializing at...'

* * *

_Lal chucked the book with its title 'S&M for beginners' clearly written on it with a rather sexy cover page right at her boss's face. Fuming red hot, she reached the end of her temper_

"_Enough is enough! Leave your kinky plays and delusions away from me! I don't even want to know what you guys are doing. Separate your private lives from work. And I'm REQUESTING it!"_

_Fuming, she dashed away before learning another thing about the Sawadas in her ever-growing relationship with the family that she'd be definitely better off not knowing!_

'_No more!'_

_That day, she stumbled across Colonello, and kicked him far away as her first reaction, ignoring cries of "What the hell Lal?!"_

_Utter despair lingered in her face as realization over her actions._

'_This stupid relation with her student is also going to bear fruit this way... and I'll be ending up borrowing that idiot Iemitsu's books...'_

_The tingling sensation on her foot, made her blush a bit_

'_Though, it wasn't bad...'_

_Somewhere in camp, a Colonello with a shoe print plastered on his face shivered_

Sawada Nana looked at her son exasperatedly as he attempted going in another hole

"You know... if I knew you loved holes this much, I'd name you Alice, from Alice in wonderland"

And Tsuna looked utterly shocked and showed her the most bewildered-disgusted face, she didn't know a baby could make and bawled throughout the day. The next day, Iemitsu got a message that his son broke up with holes

And left him confused for weeks to come

Timeteo, the boss of the Vongola looked at the man who came at him with a letter of short leave

"I never knew that the day you'd ask for a break would ever come. It seems like you're prioritizing your family. That makes this old man so happy!"

"It's not like I don't consider the famiglia as unimportant, but sometimes... I want to know what on earth is my family actually thinking..." the CEDEF boss replied with such intensity that the boss felt unnerved

"O-oh. Have a great vacation then"

'What on earth actually happened?!'

* * *

The people who know how time flows know how the world runs. This could be seen as fortune as well as misfortune

As misfortunate as Tsuna felt about getting that ability as a consequence of their repeating lives, that much fortunate Byakuran felt in receiving the gift

The core members of the future Millefiore famiglia looked at their young heir in shock

Said heir was lounging on a sofa munching on marshmallows as he casually spoke an outlandish proposal

"Hmm? No response? Or is it that you guys want further instructions? It's nice that you guys have so much faith~"

"B-Byakuran-sama, forgive me for being rude. I m-might be mistaken but did you say-"

"Yup, we're taking down the Gesso famiglia~"

"I knew it was just me hearing things. Old age must be catching up on me Ohohoho... WAIT WHAT?!"

"Hmm? I told you, we're taking the Gesso down-"

"B-but Byakuran-sama, it's the Gesso famiglia you're talking about!"

"Yes, and what about it?"

"Isn't it a bit too reckless?!-"

"Oh~? Does that mean you refuse?" the small boy still munched on his marshmallow, his posture lax. Though, his eyes held a different tale.

Instantly the members surrounding him turned stiff as threatening eyes fell on them, the threat of elimination hanging over them as they realized who exactly were they dealing with

It was a fact that the child they were facing was not naive ...or ignorant... as getting to the top of the food chain in the Mafia's world was something far out of the reach of the hands of the normal or the mundane

But nevertheless, the implications hung over their heads making them sweat at the death throes their master was sending them to

"Ahaha, you guys look like someone sent you to the execution chambers"

A younger more daring member spoke up in rage at the impudence in the heir's behavior

"You might as well since you decided to sic us on those monsters! Do you know which group is backing those guys up?!-"

"Calm down, I'm not telling you_ to get rid_ of the famiglia."

The man scoffed at what he thought was the child trying to save face "Now that you seem to get what nonsense you were speaking-"

"_**Hey, aren't you going too far with this?**_"

A chilling voice stopped the man from speaking

"Simply put, _I want Aria Gesso killed_ "

And they were brought back to the silence from the initial statement their boss had told. It was like his final words nailed their coffins

The child put down the marshmallow packet and got up from the chair and walked towards his conference members

"I don't mind if the Arcobaleno would be after us for trying to take their sky away from them"

They paled at the declaration

"A-are you trying to turn over the Mafia?"

The child grinned from end to end

"I like the next sky arcobelano way more than this boring one~!"

"W-what on earth-"

"The Arcobaleno isn't a problem since that ramen-lover turned them to broken toys~"

The members had no say in it. The boy was a genius from his birth

* * *

_The Cerville famiglia came to register the child's presence into their database as the Millefiore famiglia were an important famiglia. One of the sisters came forward to check if the child had a pulse on him and if strings weren't pulled to bring an illicit successor to trick them_

_The moment the woman bent to check, the child grasped the shirt of the Cerville famiglia member and aimed a knowing look at her. The woman jerked back, intimidated by the glint on the baby's eyes_

"_Mi Mi" it clapped and smiled cheerfully_

_The woman was turning away, chalking down the baby's behavior to her overactive imagination until she was stopped by the serious look of the baby pointing his left hand at her face_

_He seemed to be pointing his hand towards her as if... he was expecting her to put a ring on it._

"_Mi"_

_She turned towards the nearest Millefiore member, the head butler- Sebastian_

"_This child... can understand human words?"_

"_The master is just randomly spouting noises. He's a baby. What are you doing, overestimating people?"_

_Then he glared at her_

"_Or is it that you're doing an extensive investigation... even though we've been laying low for years now"_

_It was her turn to glare_

"_This child is definitely not from your famiglia's bloodline. Don't underestimate our resources. But I'm more curious about your information source"_

"_That's interesting. What does our baby master know that you hide from us? It can only mean one thing if you're desperate enough to get angry about -It's our ring"_

"_In all of the mafia which is of bloodlines and bloodline histories... the Millefiore famiglia never had a clean mix of blood. What are you uttering?"_

"_We'll give you a hint if you give back what's ours"_

_The pink haired woman nodded_

"_We've been brought back together for adding another generation of the Millefiore. We've been assembled for creating another generation"_

"_...Who assembled you?"_

"_The deal is one question for our birthright. Besides we__'re** bound by Omerta**__" the butler said recalling how members of their famiglia were brought together by people shivering in fright, babbling like babies by the man with the power to drag earth to her knees- the checkerfaced man_

'_The baby I was left to handle by that man... I still can't believe it... that this child had made that man owe a favor. What kind of favor did a man of that much power need? A favor so big that, that powerful man had to go gather an entire mafia famiglia...?'_

* * *

There was a maniac grin on his face when Byakuran was born his first words ever uttered when he could speak coherently enough was-

"Find Spanner. He's in Italia"

It was a peculiar order and his words got stranger and stranger as time passed

The kid went on a talking spree with the mechanics and scientists of the famiglia

His ideas shocked them to silence and brought a technical revolution in the Millefiore famiglia

When his first idea- a device to force experiences from someone else's memories and experiences- was made after his exact blueprints, he got his first order fulfilled

As he put the small blond haired boy into the device, struggling like a cute kid he was- his next words were sinister seeing the state of the child's new friend after being put into the device- ragged and exhausted with screams

It was a cruel thing to force a young brain to understand something you've never done before. It was like putting something to nothing. It was forcing someone to be someone else- in this case, being a friend who hadn't existed in the current life of the young master

After all, the two people the marshmallow lover had been best friends with were adults in his previous looped life

"Get me Irie Shoichi from Namimori, Japan" and the Mafia famiglia member had to feel pity for this Irie, an emotion which people like him weren't allowed to have

**Meanwhile: back at Namimori, Japan in a certain antique shop**

"Byakuran, just because I owed you a favor for last time... it doesn't mean that you can kill off my granddaughter. I've paid off my debt completely, so I won't let you lay a finger at her" the yukata wearing bespectacled man mused over the ramen he was eating

"Now what do I do to get that rabid dog away from me? Honestly, he goes around judging everything according to his rules, that cynical loner" he thought, dark memories of a zombie-creating baby occupying his mind

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

**TROUBLE X TSUNAYOSHI (FOREVER~)**

For a woman to be a Mafia Boss, she must definitely have balls more **manly** and **bigger** than the guys she'd be taking care of (her famiglia). Ahem... figuratively speaking

Now being the one to lend a hand to the psychotic marshmallow muncher, Yuni was missed dearly by the same albino. It was also a plus that Yuni, even though she always had good intentions, could be easily agreed on as being, a little messed up.

Like how she pulled out a lonely ex-world dominator-wannabe from a random void place( Tsuna kinda exiled him to after going a bit too far (killing millions of people in different worlds by sheer power as a game is definitely just a **little **too far. No one likes being bored, after all, might as well play slaughterhouse)) . Leaving aside the question of how did she enter that void in the first place, Yuni brought him back and helped the Vongola reconcile with the Millefiore head (By forcibly tagging along to the Arcobaleno battle which was a battle royale with the game organizer Kawahira being the winner (apparently)- third party wins all). She was also the reason why the young Vongola won (or at least played as a catalyst) and made the albino haired child satisfied (It's not fun always winning. Now come, embrace the masochistic side in you!)

So Byakuran was fond of her, maybe a little too fond. So he did various things to try get her company back. By various things, I mean various things (Ones that can anger skies. Come on! You're talking about the guy who made Tsunayoshi snap). As a result of this, a pissed Aria was currently sitting on her desk, playing the typical dad who was unwilling to let her daughter go to some suspicious man (It didn't help that Byakuran had a smile plastered on his face 24/7. Honestly he could the world's greatest creepo/shady person)

Well… she didn't know the reason why her base was getting attacked by an unknown family in _Japan of all places_

'Wasn't Japan famous for yakuza?! Why're they even attacking us?! Why us?!'

She looked at her pacifier with displeasure

'Don't people normally **avoid **getting involved with the Arcobaleno?! And this guy's attacking us!'

* * *

Just then a knock was heard outside her door

"Enter!"

A tall blonde haired man with a tired look entered and immediately sighed after looking at her face

"You should probably keep your irritation in check, Aria-san"

"Gamma! How can I relax with my men getting attacked here and there by robots! Robots! This isn't a scifi comic for pete's sakes! And the people sitting in their cockpits look like scared puppies. I don't even know who the bad guy here is, the guy leading them or us!"

"But you shouldn't lose your temper. The opponent seems to know you very well. See, you're already hot and bothered"

"This is no time for dirty jokes, Gamma" she said ignoring the others indignant squawks of not meaning that

"The other's got our movement patterns and location completely analyzed, robots as weapons and their base is in Japan. Obviously, they will not cease fire if we go there. We've found where their base is, but going there-"

"Will be just what he wants. Don't you see, Aria! He knows you get bothered when your family is in danger and he knows that you're against hurting unarmed people. And we don't even know that the people driving the robots are civilians or not. They get too scared to answer any of our questions. I'm sure that the guy knows that they'll never tell anything regarding them… because those guys are too scared to talk-"

"So you're saying we're going to be on defense while this guy pits innocents against us while hurting us too as an extra?! It's a game for him!"

"We're dispatching a team to Namimori, Japan to attack them and send a warning. Have trust in us"

"…Ok, I'll leave it to you guys"

"Leaving that aside, do you want to tell the Arcobal-"

"No"

"Huh? Why?"

"I'm not sure, but I've been visions every time I think I'll tell them about the current situation"

"Visions?"

"That he'll kill them all when I make that move"

"…Isn't that a bit absurd? They're the world's seven strongest people"

"That's right, isn't it? It must just be the paranoia from the damages we're receiving"

Then they discussed strategies they'll adopt for the infiltration. When Gamma excused himself, Aria whispered to herself

"…_It'd be nice if those were just delusions_…"

* * *

_Back in Namimori_

The brunette looked at a large house with a red roof with great concentration. It seemed like his eyes could burn holes into them. Bypassers looked at the boy, slightly curious of the reason why the boy was doing this

One such bypasser, a short black haired girl holding her mother's hand looked down at the child (even though she was at the same age as him) and commented cooly

"How stupid. He won't shoot beams from his eyes even if he spends the entire day glaring at that house. What does he think he is, _superman_?"

And the mother looked at her daughter with shocked awe

'I wonder what we did for Hana to be so… cynical. It's definitely dad's fault. If he was a bit more focused, I wouldn't be lashing out sarcasm at him… Ahaha, it's definitely not my fault!'

The reason why Tsuna was looking at the house closely was the incident where a couple of guys wearing full white came and kidnapped a familiar red-haired male for who knows what

He didn't what to be surprised at

The fact that people tried to kidnap a child in broad daylight, wearing pure white when it couldn't be a disguise during any lifetime

The fact that someone even had the guts to kidnap someone in Namimori of all places

The fact that Byakuran could do something so easy to see through, seeing as the men were mulling over the reason why they had to wear white while doing this and that the target was Irie Shoichi, an ordinary child from a middle-class family who couldn't reach his potential until he was roped into their business

The fact that Byakuran had a branch in Japan or that Irie Shoichi looked like he aged over twenty years the time he suddenly popped up in Namimori again

Either way, it piqued Tsuna's curiosity and he found himself looking at the building for a long time. But no matter how curious he was, he never confronted Hibari on the issue- not that he was ever planning to

Any contact with Hibari basically brought him spiraling down to the road of violence. His previous lives were proof of it

Once he had decided to keep in contact with the prefect through letters to check his wellbeing (Hibari is so straightforward in his youth, he worries him alright?!) and get information regarding suspicious movement in Namimori (Said suspicious person was Byakuran who did many things to get his attention) and as a result of Tsuna setting Byakuran straight made Hibari do a full-on investigation to find him… and eventually brought him to live a vigilante's life- even though he wanted to do nothing with the blood ridden world of the mafia

What was worse was that he could never bring himself to lie when the old Vongola leaders told him to inherit the blood and sins of the famiglia

* * *

"_I'll burn Vongola down" which gave him a straightway seat to being Vongola Decimo_

"_I'm not going to inherit anything. Did you hear that Giotto-san?"_

"_Huh? If I'm not going to inherit anything, doesn't that make Vongola stop dead in its tracks? Then it'll perish. Huh? What do you mean I pass? Wait, I said I'm not inheriting anything-"_

"_Why can't I make Vongola a vigilante anyway? Wait, Giotto-san , stop! I'm not going to be a mafia boss!"_

"_Xanxus isn't so bad you know… He has principles and protects the famiglia in his own way. Can't I select the CEDEF? More like Xanxus seems violent because his father took away the proof of their bond away from him! Come on… you guys can't be saying the same thing Nono is saying. Fine then, if I change Vongola, then can Xanxus be the heir? It's no longer inheritable then… Eh? What do you mean I pass? Don't use the line that even Xanxus approved! Why does this happen?! I'm not doing this you know! You can't make me…"_

"_Isn't the reign of the Vongola far too long? Isn't it fine to stop now? Didn't we go too far already? Hey! Isn't that against what I'm saying?! What's the point if I continue Vongola?! Hey! Are you even listening to me! I don't want to do paperwork! …Sympathy pats aren't helping anyone… you guys_

_If you guys understand how much of torture, paper works are why do you want me to get involved._

…_It's not fair if you say that it can't be only me who's suffering… if you use that even I'll want to continue the bloodline"_

"_You guys better be honest. Is the reason why you don't want Xanxus to continue the bloodline that he'd probably summon you guys to finish the paperwork for him?_

_Or that he'll just burn them and you guys will feel envious that he could do what you wanted to do with ease. And that no one would even think of using non-burnable paper instead. Then he'd stop other families from doing harm by targeting them because the blood and sins became the pride of the Vongola, not anyone else. So everyone wins but it'll feel like no one wins instead?_

… _Aha! I knew it! But because of that reason don't rope me in. Wait are you guys going to rope someone else in, I'd feel guilty ...Especially because it was for a reason like this… So I guess I'll have to destroy Vongola then… Huh? I__** pass**__?! __**No! Stop!**__"_

"_You know Gokudera also would want to destroy Vongola if it's going down the path of destruction. No! Mukuro's perfect of the job! … You can also put Hibari for the same_

_Oh yeah, in that case even Chrome, Ryohei, Lambo or Yamamoto would fit. What do you mean we can't select them because they have no sky flames?! They're a part of the sky! So it should fit!_

…Wow, _you guys are racist. I've become disillusioned in you, Giotto-san. What do you mean that Talbot is the racist one?! …Passing blame is sad, you guys_

…_Wait then you can make them all into the Decimo. There are rare cases where the boss is more than one right? It can be a council- a democracy!_

_What about the guardians you say? …Don't worry! I'll produce enough damage to account for the paperwork for all of them! Hehe, don't give me those envious looks_

_Wait! Don't give me the position in pure spite! Wait! You guys aren't human!_

… _I meant figuratively!"_

Basically, negotiations failed all the time and he became the Decimo

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Italy, Negotiations failed because of the surprising reason that Hibari Kyoya had eliminated the assault team when they stepped into Namimori (Not surprisingly). Aria didn't give up and started sending letters to Hibari Kyoya hoping for permission… eventually being a weird kind of pen-pal (Her stubbornness rubbed off on him, with the help of Gamma who had to desperately place the letters at the sight of the ever-wandering cloud, all while acting like a ninja -Aria's orders! Although it felt ridiculous that a grown man like him had to run all over town to deliver a letter to a boy and the blushes of the girls who misunderstood the situation didn't help (It wasn't a love letter Dammit! it was boss's orders...))

This fact had surprised the Tsuna of a few years in the future

The situation(not the penpal part) satisfied Byakuran's expectations. What didn't... was what happened after Hibari read a letter from her on a whim.

The whims of the skylark can't be underestimated –was the lesson Byakuran learned when he received news that the Japanese Millefiore branch was single-handedly defeated by the young Hibari

The after effect hit Tsuna who realized that the self-aware characters of wonderland were nothing but trouble, who **will** if it was possible, involve him in their matter (the Tsuna's version of Moore's law)

After all, the demon prefect realized that there was communication between a red-head (Irie) and the marshmallow-head by deducing and investigating Namimori after the Japanese Millefiore incident

This lead to a confrontation between Irie and Skylark which was more like prey meets predator. The scared-out-of-his-wits Irie on looking at Tsuna called him out to help and Tsuna being Tsuna dashed and helped him out, piquing the curiosity of Hibari (which you should never do). In a town like Namimori where nobody thinks of opposing the nature calamity called Hibari Kyoya, Tsuna who dared to do **just** that and actually** succeed**… would definitely get himself involved with the prefect in a deep, long relationship (long as in your entire life)

When Irie Shoichi escaped from the especially traumatic incident and was in the comforting presence of the great sky, Sawada Tsunayoshi, he spat out his entire experience with Byakuran and about his life flipped 180 degrees

By the way , Byakuran who had been pouting at his foiled plans was pleasantly surprised at the news of Irie's actions. So, he decided to visit his old (or new) friend, Tsuna

Tsuna wasn't in a good mood after hearing what Byakuran was up to. So unfortunately for Byakuran, Tsuna had greeted him with a punch to the kisser, along with nagging at him for three hours straight… and unfortunately, with Tsuna, Hibari who was suspicious of his relationship with the Millefiore famiglia …pegged Tsuna as a person in his side after seeing his magnificent K.O.

And Irie Shoichi, who had wanted to do nothing with Hibari found him being a part of their new group (this was happening way too fast for Tsuna!), was also miserable

So the lesson Tsuna learned was that life liked its problems like its dominoes

Oh and also, **misery loves company.**

In the far corner, Kawahira laughed

"That's what you get for bullying my granddaughter, marshmallow brat!"

In the end, the last ones smirking was the Gesso famiglia and the checkerfaced man.

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

**THE PROPHET: YUNI**

Sawada Tsunayoshi didn't consider himself as _the saint of the mafia_ or whatever title Yuni had made up for him in her manager-wannabe rush (She was hell-bent on making him an idol!). At first he had just wanted to help the girl, seeing how much of shit she had been putting up with (The brave soul had to be with Byakuran for 24/7 wearing his handpicked Lolita dress)and how much more she was willing to be put up with (mainly Gamma's 'my little girl wanted to be papa's bride when she grew up and now she's hanging out with that leech!' phase and being Byakuran's bosom friend 4 life ehe~!)  
But after spending so many lives with her, he got a rather different perspective

He remembered being called dame-Tsuna throughout his life, but then suddenly he had been referred to as the Sky's saint and the _savior of mankind! _In what universe was that kind of ugly duckling evolution possible- apparently his...

He could even point out to where it began- **all with Yuni!** With her fierce implanting-like advertisement, almost everyone who heard her or been near her vicinity (her victims- Oh those poor souls)- made him out to be some sort of _messiah- _Bullshit! He called bullshit and he needed an audience to yonder it all out. No one ever hears him out!

Tsuna looked at the scene in front of him- hundreds of men were practically screaming 'Notice me senpai~' and chasing after the lone aloof 'I don't give a damn' Hibari Kyoya  
In fact, he was even willing to throw flower petals to add to the effect (A typical shojo manga scene)- since it was about a person(people in this case) wanting the other to accept their devotion and feelings (albeit it being more hero worship, but if you ignore that... it's a shojo manga scene. (Dammit, can't a fujoshi dream?!))  
Now the Yuni company's poster child- something he didn't and will never sign up for- Tsunayoshi didn't get why people made him be a mother figure, a consultant, a ...saint- seeing how the prefect's devoted fan base was kneeling in front of him, helpless and searching for answers. He isn't a light bulb (Reborn would concede on a tube light **if **he was beaten within a pulp of his life- which, face it, will **never **happen) to light someone else's way

It did irritate the young eight-year-old, seeing the mess he'd gotten himself in- since a few years ago, his life basically was cannonballed by a natural disaster called Millefiore Byakuran  
"So no matter how hard you tried, senpai didn't notice you" he meant to say in what he felt - frustrated exasperation... but  
"As expected of Tsunayoshi-san! You figured out what we came here for as soon as you arrived" the spokesperson, Kusakabe Tetsuya said, a young delusional (you gotta be if you want to think of Hibari as a hero you want to devote your entire life too and Tsunayoshi could honestly peg him as wife of his ex(and hopes in him remaining that, fingers crossed)-cloud ) delinquent fighting against the oppression of the world (currently aiming towards democracy, more free from slavery, forced favors, obligations and other crazy things from the past)

It wasn't as soon as he arrived... but he had no choice but to come... seeing as they were staking out at his house's front-yard in full formation (Hitler would be jealous)!  
Looking at their focused starry eyes and those unrealistic expectations, he couldn't voice any of his complains (about them staying outside his house in hordes, wearing pompadours, gakurans with kanji on the back(a biker gang feel or Elvis convention cosplayers). He couldn't bring himself to say anything about the bikes stationed around his house with that intimidating pose they were giving out making it seem like their house didn't take a bath for months (people were avoiding it like the plague). To make matters worse, his ever benevolent mom gave them cutesy fluffy scarfs with bunny patterns, since they were his **friends** waiting for him in the **cold, frigid, snowing ground. **Having willed to face them, he showed his face resulting them to greet him -yakuza style(a 90-degree bow with a loud voice and lined up making way for him to enter his house) . This made him regret having any relation to Hibari Kyoya. But what could he do, he had to go back home because standing behind a wall nearby contemplating his decision to whether to go back or not for 4 hours wouldn't get rid of them anyway!

* * *

'I would have stayed out but I haven't made any close friends... Byakuran and Hibari are out of the question! Shoichi... would make Byakuran as company by default'  
He shifted his eyes to the back of the house  
'Not to mention Yamamoto would use that as an excuse to pick me up- if I tried going homeless for a night. I don't know why he's so interested in me anyway'  
The fact is... Yamamoto Takeshi's curiosity was piqued by a younger Tsuna. But that's a tale told later. So in his curiosity, Takeshi looked over the unassuming kid more often than not with a terrifying intensity to understand them. Them being the self-defense honed on autopilot against Hibari, the dog pile of Byakuran and his bodyguards(who moved on instinct when their boss moved instinctively), Shoichi's enthusiastic robot demonstration(victim: Tsuna) and the beginning incident which sparked his interest -the lecture(kinda) of the elusive brunette on an old, yet somehow powerful man( which will be told later)

The glint he felt while he was staking out in front of his own home vanished  
'Oh good. Yamamoto lost his interest... temporarily. I wanted to watch over them rather than get Alice's invitation... I have to improvise that plan now. What set it off this time... huh?'  
"-Tsunayoshi-san, Tsunayoshi-san. What do we do?"  
"Huh? My bad, I wasn't listening. What do you want to do?"  
"I'm saying, how do we become a better match for Hibari-sama? We want to be with him forever and take care of him and protect him... even though it's audacious to even think of such a thing. But we want to be by his side and support him"  
'Oh lord! Shouldn't you say that sort of a thing to his parents?! What good would it do to tell me about your proposal to Hibari-san?!'  
"...I'm asking this just to be sure...You guys want to follow Hibari-san for life right?... like subordinates right?"  
"? Huh? What are you saying Tsunayoshi-san?"  
'Hibari-san?! Did you become the ultimate uke in this lifetime?! These guys are after your ass and your virginity and-'  
"-We want to be his subordinates, obviously!"  
'Oh good, it's just me over-thinking it'

* * *

"...You want him to be a gang leader or something?"  
"Hibari-san would rather kill us than do that. Tsunayoshi-san I'm sure you already know, he did beat us into a more proper life. We want to repay it"  
"But with the way you guys are, you're more suited for the Yakuza"  
"What did ya say fucker?! You saying we're not gud 'nuff for Hibari-san ,eh?!" a grunt spoke up, pissed off by the reply the brunette gave. Tsuna sighed and continued, unfazed  
"See that's what I meant. You guys lean over people and speak with that condescending, loud voice. Not to mention the words you use, your mannerism or the clothes you were. It's intimidating. You'll be looked at as troublemakers, disturbers of peace... despite any good intentions"  
"What did ya say?!"  
"Do you guys even know what it means to be subordinates of Hibari Kyoya?"  
"Of course! We'll fight 'em bastards who lay a hand on Hibari-san! We'll be his strength!"  
"Hibari-san isn't weak enough to need protection"  
"You saying that we're too weak to be of any help to him? Better watch yer mouth brownie. Just because we're going easy on ya don't mean ya can step over us and do whatever ya fuckin' want!"  
"... To be someone's strength is to share one's belief"  
"Eh?! What bullshit ya spouting now?!"  
"Namimori is a big place. Hibari can't handle it by himself. There are unlawful areas and he can't multiply himself to take care of all the issues. There's no time and there's only one of him"  
"Now ya insulting Hibari-san?! Ya really full of it, ya little shit-"  
"Do you have the conviction?! To protect Namimori by his side? That's what it would mean to be his strength. He's using his power to protect Namimori(albeit in his own twisted way). I've heard that you guys got into fights for your pride and honor at stake. That's all noble and all, but you stick your heads and hurt Namimori's citizens or damage Namimori's beauty... and you make your fights petty"  
"What do ya even know about us?! Yer like em' judging us with yer eyes"  
"Hibari-san wouldn't have done you guys in if you didn't do it"  
"...Where's your confidence coming from?"  
"Hibari wouldn't be Hibari if he picked fights to keep his self-worth. If you guys want to help him... you better place your pride in Namimori instead. What I'm saying is a cheat. You guys had to figure your convictions by yourself, not force it by hearing a third person's view..."  
"...If yer so against telling us this ...why?-"  
"It's because you guys were kneeling in the front-yard like this. You guys must have put a lot of thought into this... seeing how much pride you guys have. And it must have hurt too... And! That Hibari, he's fine by himself ...but it's more reassuring if there are people by his side to back him up... I get worried about him"  
"..."

* * *

"Ah! But you guys better make your own will, ok?! There's no point in forcing yourself to do something or like something"  
"Ya really like this town huh?"  
"Huh? It's a really peaceful town where the people keep smiling and are really warm"  
'Or at least the people I've met and bonded with are. And that all took place here'  
"Our town is a bit crazy, but everyone I know has good intentions. They're awkward but loveable... I've made a lot of good friends here. Plus you get what's good about Namimori by that anthem"  
'The song is stuck in my head after Hibird and Hibari's phone. That Namimori addict!'  
"...Aniki~! As expected of Hibari-san's best friend"  
'Best friend?!- No I do not want to go there. I got carried away! Vigilante habits die hard...'  
"Aniki! We're going to follow Hibari-san!"  
"You guys better not be going with the flow! Anyway, do you guys even know how to make the people around here trust you?"  
Seeing their blank faces, Tsuna sighed  
"How about you guys speak more politely from now on? Like the service calls from the PR department of products? You know... customer support? Call them and record their conversations, maybe? And don't leer into people's faces or hover above them. Stay at their height and if you can't smile, keep a neutral face. Do these first and come again. You guys can come inside you know. Mama makes great food, so you're welcome anytime. The rooms in our house is comfy too, so if you got injuries or want to talk about any strategies or rest, you can stay there"  
"Aniki... you're truly kind!"  
Seeing hundreds of men cry, sob and snivel before your eyes weren't something Tsuna wanted to see and he didn't know why they were acting like this... calling him kind, even though he wasn't treating them properly. It must be Yuni's influence, yes, definitely so  
Tsuna resigned himself to spend his free time making them into wonderful dogs of society... well that was his understanding of the PR department

* * *

Two months in their training and Tsuna realized that he was playing the major role in creating the DC committee- the future demon prefect's army  
But the unpleasant surprises didn't stop there  
Byakuran, who had apparently put a chip which could record his voice, his location and other shady things in his tooth came by and declared he'll visit him more and called him a Tsundere. No amount of tears from his side could convince him otherwise, in fact it added fuel to fire (Aww, Tsuna-chan. You're so happy you're crying?)  
'When did he do that?! Just the thought of him forcing my mouth open, drilling a tooth to put a chip in gives me the creeps. Is it that I can't manage or get up without Reborn's tough love?! Perish the thought! Am I on the path of the ultimate masochist? I mean when you can't live without Reborn's torture/training...'  
Customer service blacklisted Namimori due to the sheer amount of calls which could be classified as prank calls (Can't these guys do things in moderation?!)  
Hibari Kyoya who was pleased with the determination of the new force for Namimori gave Tsuna- the man who unwittingly became the main catalyst- a proud smirk  
Shoichi, who heard that Tsuna amassed an army to protect the town became inspired and tried sending training robots and information about disturbing activities to the future DC group. It made them stronger than grown-up men in a short time... and improved their information gathering and analyzing skill along with decision-making skills. They were rapidly expanding on top of that. Tsuna feared he started an army Hibari could use to take over the world  
Poor Tsunayoshi couldn't figure out exactly what he did to get things to go in such strange ways which never impacted the way things went lightly


	4. Chapter 4

**This work was my original take of the Tsuna as Kawahira AU. The later version being the witch's descendent. This work won't be continued from my end. I was pretty much an angsty kid when I wrote this.**

**Also, this is the original version, not revamped to correct grammatical errors, so yeah, even the delivery is kinda cringeworthy.**

**Chapter 1**

**The Beginning**

There was a world where justice was served

It was implemented because of a group of people whose number could be counted by your fingers

Surprising right?

**In shibuya, japan**

There was a small almost run down building which wasn't recorded by history before and for years to come

Forgotten by the world, but feared by the shadows so dark, it could consume the stars twinkling in the sky leaving it as dark as the city skies

This building was rustic, antique and it stored antique furniture holding historical value. It had a library in its basement full of folders which any crook would like to destroy and burn to ashes

It was the place where justice was given impartially and for free, regardless of caste ,creed or species

Cases were solved left and right

What about judgement you ask? Surely even if the truth can be seen, wool can cover ones eyes. Such is the judicial system known by the layman's eyes. The rich and the ones who know the law and play by its games, its rules win. Others are forced to rot in hell. Right and wrong isn't determined by justice. Then new players entered the game. They played as representatives... for the weak

The building's inhabitants had power rivalling the shadows of the world. What they decide was law

Ordinarily, you would expect these people to be old, experienced and wise. But these players given to young youthful people with genius like minds and clashing personalities

People who were of brought up by the most unlikely situations and whom most people would agree were never to make contact. They had bad affinity, to put it lightly. In the most special of cases, where you just had to put em in one room you needed one person. Short with spiky hair, slim and flexible was a man who looked so pure that he could break under pressure. The man was so idealistic in views that most people scoffed at his beliefs and the conviction he held. But they couldn't hold him down

* * *

Sawada Tsunayoshi was a 20 year old hotshot detective. He was the boss of a team of specialized agents who were to investigate cases of utmost importance or the unsolvable cold cases.

The man was rather passionate about his job. This passion was shared by his team of 7 equally young humans with strange quirks

They could be called outcasts by the way they held themselves up to society.

They supported each other fiercely and carried the world on their shoulders, regardless of how they behaved around each other. They were bearers of strong will and equally strong conviction that would not yield to anyone. But they protected different things, and so a fair system was established

Sasagawa Ryohei, an energetic man who didn't know to rest. He moved vigorously and inspired many global athletes. He was in charge of their state and behaviors of the people in the competitive sports world. He ensured fair play and was merciless when fair play was stopped

Words don't have a place with him. Actions determine everything. He was tenacious .**He never gave up**. He stayed until the countdown stopped at 0, He stayed until the bell chimed

No matter how many times you could beat him down, he would get up and corner those who didn't respect sportsmanship. He would move faster than everyone when an issue happened. Problems were blown away, he would move forward regardless of any obstacle, any burden on his shoulders. He carried the weight of the people he considered dear to him. He would protect everything he was supporting .The ones whose lives would flourish under his light were countless. He shone among them after all. They would flower and show their own light , just like the sun in their solar system

He would fight to protect. Fight till the death just so that they would be safe

Bandaged with scars marking the pride of a warrior and his back facing those under his protection. Words can never express his power. It was better to just watch him in action

* * *

Rokudo Mukuro was the man who was a triple agent whose loyalties were never bound to any person or organization. He was bound to the underworld and the most knowledgeable ,living as an informant who had sole monopoly on which card could be dealt to which surface. Mind you, these cards potentially ruined companies, famiglias and businesses as a whole. The man's whimsical deeds were often questionable and brought debates from the people associated with law directly, on the topic of arresting him and sentencing him to lifetime worth of prison. He was too dangerous, too unpredictable they kept on saying. They could not see the things he could see. It was too far. They could not predict the things he could see

They played in different levels ,they were too outmatched. When results ultimately brought good things, they pondered on whether it was intentional or not. The man would only chuckle and open his silver tongued mouth to spin their lives in circles. One had to wonder exactly what did the man want to weave. What did he see with those heterochromatic eyes? He lived like an artist , directing many plays with the world as the stage and everyone else as his pawns

Chuckling in darkness when the play ended and the audience baffled, shocked and cut puppets. And then merge with the mists to play with the next victim

He gambled bets which ought to be considered rigged. He would win them all, after all and with each bet he would steal more of his opponents life until a shell would remain. Oh, and there's no escape

People would get charmed by his playful antiques and his sweet honey like smile and voice. They would get closer to his charisma and his confident stance and behaviour. Bewitched by his eyes ,they would come closer with or without realizing the trap under neath. It was a temptation so sweet people would sink their fangs in until they get blunt and slowly get numb. Temptation so sweet they don't even mind their lives become his. They don't even realize what hit them

Cry, Run away, Struggle , Crawl, Jump, Dash, Be as frantic as you wish. Your struggles are quite ugly, why won't you just give up? Meaningless struggles are what they are. They just stretch his smile an inch wider and satisfy their future master even further. He was one who conquered hell. The man who seemed so experienced he reached a god like influence among the mass. My bad, more appropriately Satan like influence

And thus Darkness seeps across all corners. What makes good light and darkness bad? Thus confusion spreads like a plague

He moved in darkness, never to be captured ,never to be so controlled unlike the people around him. His role was never fixed making him seem like the only glitch in the game the living played. The anomaly who played the grey a world where ying and yang explained life

Rokudo Mukuro was a game maker, the person who sat on a throne of pawns consisting of people who assumed and wondered more and more about him. The people who were so curious they moved closer to the web spinned on lies, half truths ,truths made on lies and truths made of truths. He created illusions which were made of assumptions of skeptics and the imagination of the naive and innocent. He could advantage of everything that surrounded him and made them into his pawns until he made himself a throne and no one could dethrone him

He was the emperor after all, the emperor of darkness. **He will not lose, not now ,not tomorrow and he will be eternal**

**Would you like to play? Or wish a dance with him? I'm sure he'd enjoy it. But where would you be when the clock strikes 12?**

* * *

Bovino Lambo was a young lad, the only one amongst them who was aged below 20 at the age of 18. The genius was associated with the science industry. He was a rather lazy person with black curly hair and a mole under his cheek. He was usually dressed informal and was responsible for the leading researches undertaken by his fellow scientists .He would account for the fairness undertaken by their researches and ensure that ideas got expressed and encouraged

Being rather playful in nature and underestimated because of his age , information on unfair play reached him fast .Which were taken advantage of really fast and the bug was exterminated fast

He was often doubted for his sincerity ,because he seemed very fickle, selfish and cowardly. But the lad was loyal and protected the future which humanity would take. It was a front line battle with such a young figure as its lead. But despite being so young, he was ambitious to a sense he would seem so foolish and ridiculous

The childish young man was full of air from his dreams which often got him in trouble and made him one of the most dependent in the team .Well there were many problems after all

They made him rather flashy and the only member known publicly by the people in the world. Well the team was still fairly hidden (even though the only faint trace to it could be found through Lambo) and it's not like the lad did it on purpose. His constant tears were evidence of that...

Oh and let's not talk about his foul mouth...

* * *

Hibari Kyoya was a stoic man who's influence reached the skies and whose name brought fear to the people from heavens above and down until hells fiery bottoms.

The solitary mans' ambitions and pride can never be measured even if infinity was considered. He is a person you should not cross. He is a man you can't tame

He was a person you could consider a natural disaster. He spoke few words and leaves you with a fear worse than that of death. He maintained order and peace. He commanded it. It is his wish and you will follow it ,if you value your sanity. His life is a proof that his **will** will not bend, will not waver ,will never cease and will propagate around the world to every corner, every nook and space and to every cell down to the atomic level. That is his conviction and the power of the strong

The weak will be devoured and only the strong will remain. Everything in his way will be obliterated and demolished. They have no right to oppose him. He is Hibari Kyoya the man feared and respected by the world. The man who is the very definition of a carnivore in this world which follows **the survival of the fittest . This man is the being on top of the food chain**

Any lower, his pride will be injured. Everything it stands for is under his protection and anything otherwise will be shown his fangs. His force is never bending ,violent ,devastating and forcible changes the world under his whims. No one can oppose him and no one can force it to change. It is inevitable. He rules over his territory, the world. And he will expand it over the universe. Hibari Kyoya is absolute. He is ultimate

He is the proof that the world's justice exists and is maintained and he will monitor everything and be omnipresent... like the clouds

Aloof and alone, that is his fate ,a fate suitable for a dictator, a king. A fate which the weak would oppose saying 'Who would want to be a king?' .Too weak to shoulder such burdens ,too weak to make such powerful decisions and be relied upon so dependently

'Hibari' ,the name brings feelings of unwavering fear but more than that... trust. Trust that he will destroy anything that opposes him and Trust that he will protect his ideals and territory. No matter what. It is a fact

He rules the world and that is a fact known to him like breathing is normal to a human. That is unquestionable. Anyone who opposes will be **bitten to death**

* * *

Gokudera Hayato is a easily irritable man with a short temper and extreme loyalty responsible for the music industry .He was a genius who regularly composed pieces and was one of the famous judges and known to the public via that personality. He was closer to the police force and the only link to the team connected to the force through which cases freshly opened but dangerous could be accessed. Any suspicious movements were easily detected and reported or kept an eye open out. Most of the cases were solved by the genius and extremely quickly and efficiently. Well, he was the person who solved most cases ignoring Hibari

Away from the public's eyes ,he had a reputation as a genius hacker who could access all sorts off information with the help of Chrome

All movements were taken on account for the team and in the most efficient way possible. He was the most loyal to his boss and tried to maintain harmony among to the team but eventually became the cause for the disruption in the team play because of opposing views and his short temper.

But he was the backbone of the team, and kept on circulating information and he was the right hand of the boss. Unwavering in his trust and the person who knew most about his team than anyone ,he was also the person who was the most passionate in his fight to keep justice served for anyone and everyone. He could also be the person who was the most calm when things got dire. But heavens forbid that.

His background was also one of the most complicated other than Rokudos'

**The silver haired pianist played the world's tune**

* * *

Yamamoto Takeshi was a person who worked as a sushi master as a part time job despite being so rich he didn't need a job for centuries to come. How did he reach his riches? His cheerful demeanor and pacifistic nature made people trust him more than anyone and thus was the source of information regarding relations and situations or events. He could access any location because of his web of 'acquaintances' and rarely became the information vendor for Rokudo himself being such a rich source of information

His passion for sports, his words, his body language ,his demeanor and his personality all aided him in being one of the most dangerous people in the world who could make people willingly kill for him or die for him... if he wished so. He made peace treaties with different countries ,often being the sole reason why wars were stopped by his passive aggressive threats or suggestions. And they wouldn't even know what hit them

He tranquilized their aggression like rain and and stayed loyal to people whom he trusted. He never betrayed them, but he did manipulate everything to his benefit, that too unknowingly. His sharpened instinct and passion for sports brought many admirers and often was used to distract people from scenes by calming them or attracting them. People did admire his adonis like body after all

* * *

Chrome Dokuro was a person who most often under-covered like a civilian to gain information which was mostly unseen. She was the most observant of the their team and was privy to sensitive information because of her faint presence and her demeanor. She was the one who had access to any sort of information, regardless of whether it was from her team members or from the people around her

She was underestimated and thus people showed her their true colors easily and she could gather information the fastest. Her lack of presence could make her slip anything she needed or if she wanted frame people to use to her benefit, which she did to help her most trusted team member ,Mukuro Rokudo being the only way to contact him too. Which showed the trust placed of her by the overlord

She was beautiful with her long hair usually tied to a bun and her figure which enabled her to be flexible in missions which got her skills. They were mostly undercover or spy or renaissance after all. She stood up, tall and proud when people tried to baby her or protect her from anything (her bosss and Mukuro) .Her team members were fiercely protective of her too

She also had one of the most difficult of pasts and could show different views on sensitive matters.

* * *

Youth was a stage where people did crazy things which spiraled around passion. This was also a reason why the team also tried solving those cases which weren't supposed to be touched .These cases were given up by the police themselves

After all, they could wipe their existence from the face of the earth

Powerful members controlled how the world spinned. Whimsical decisions could make the tides change towards the direction. The moon could be bombed ,if they wished so

Powerful families ,mafia, the world leaders. These people played the puppeteer, the shadows which could engulf the lives of millions and erase their very history.

No one could touch them

But these eight **dared**

Thus Sawada Tsunayoshi found himself facing a white haired male when searching deep in an investigation against Vongola for half a year, after finding the existence of the Arcobaleno and the Millefiore

"Sawada Tsunayoshi ,a man whose existence wouldn't affect the rest of the world, only those of seven. Did I get it right?"

Tsuna looked suspiciously at the man with a yukata sitting carelessly at the porch of the veranda of the hotel where the team was staying. The source was impossible to trace, but somehow, he was traced

"Tsuna-kun, how about you do me a favor? I'll replace all the memories of the people who know you. After all your real family is dead right?"

The brunette kept his silence ,assessing the situation

"You just have to replace me in one of the alternate universes. I don't exist there after all"

"Seeing as you know me, I see that either we have not done a thorough erasal of my existence, which isn't possible. So the only reason left is that you know me from this alternate universe you speak of. This would make you in league with the organisations we are investigating currently"

"You don't really seem very surprised of my knowledge .But doesn't this situation seem very strange to you. Usually, people would panic"

"I wouldn't bother. You seem to know me on a personal basis. No need to keep information that you already know. We're going to erase your existence anyway. You seem to be a catalyst for the groups"

"Why would you say that I'm a catalyst?"

"The only other person who knew of my existence was a man named Byakuran Gesso, who very generously spilled all the information about why he knew me. No one else recognizes me, even in his own family. People wouldn't tell such advantageous information to others anyway, they might try to change something. Though the man must have experienced that second hand. Apparently, the other was Irie Shoichi"

"Ooh~ You got it right Tsuna-kun. Why would you believe him anyway?"

"Let's just say, I've got great instincts"

"Hmm... The Tsuna-kun in this universe also has hyper instincts... Last question. Why would you tell me this?"

"You were testing me and I was stalling for time. My team will be reaching in five minutes and you are stuck to that spot because of a gadget I had pressed during our talk"

The kimono clad man started to laugh

"Tsuna kun, it was a very interesting conversation for that, I'll give you 2 rewards, I won't erase your existence from other people's minds and I'll get arrested quietly. My work's done here anyway. Plus I'm curious about jail life"

"It's just darkness. There's nothing to experience"

"Tsuna-kun, sorry but ,the trinisette isn't going to be destroyed. But you are ,unfortunately"

Tsuna looked at the other man in slight caution, because he seemed genuinely apologetic

"Oh right, It's very rude of me to send you away without telling you my name. It's Kawahira" He said and waved after changing his mood dramatically

The fox like smile was the only thing he last saw before everything turned black. Tsuna couldn't utter a sound

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**New Fate?**

*drip drip drip drip*

This is preposterous. What did he do to get this? He was fighting to maintain peace

He deserved good karma... enough to last a lifetime. But no! He just had to fall into sticky situations which he couldn't make heads or tails off

Things were getting so good. They finally caught the person who could be the very ring master of the top 3 organizations which controlled the underworld. The very root of it -The Vongola .And it was like candy for rewards, they found two more- the Arcobaleno and the Millefiore

If they could just have caught Kawahira also, the underworld's power would have drastically changed.

The root of the power supply of the rich and the powerful would have been burnt! Everyone could play on a fairly even game board!

Damn, Mukuro and his analogies were getting to him. Was he spending too much time with him? He might even develop that unique "kufufu" laughter of his. Chrome developed it before him. Ah, but she was his die hard fan. But the man honestly loved theatrics even if brought such an uproar amongst others. Well the people in his team were naturally flashy. Giving him the skill of twisting the situation to his benefit via words like the type of lawyers he despised

He felt like a sap... He had to faint in the most crucial part of the plan. Who knows what Kawahira had done in that time...

He ruined everything... the half year worth of effort... They would be so disappointed .He wouldn't able to keep the promise

*drip drip drip drip*

Was it because he didn't maintain his health properly?

That wasn't right... Gokudera always took care of his health to levels of unhealthy obsessions .'Honestly, the man worried too much' he thought fondly and then frowned 'But he won't listen to me when I tell him to stop smoking. He always did seem to have a death wish. I wanted us to stay as long as possible. I just have to meet up with them after escaping from here'

So what did that strange man pull off?

He squinted and tried opening his eyes expecting sunlight

Darkness awaited him.

There was no noise either.

*drip drip drip drip*

Except for that infernal sound. Though it was the only thing which kept him sane in a place completely opposite to the liveliness of the people he considered family. It also reminded him of the cheerful man who'd have a grin stretching from ear to ear if he was trapped along by his side. He missed them already

* * *

Was he being trapped somewhere? Held as a prisoner? It was pretty pointless. He wouldn't spill any information ,and his team will get him out of here

He tried to get up, only to stumble when trying to apply the same amount of force he usually did to get off the floor

His hands reached the floor too quickly

Quickly regaining his composure, the detective scrambled up, his senses on high alert

He tried surveying his surrounding to get an understanding of his current predicament

Aside from the continuous sound of dripping, there was a smell typically associated with damp sources

'This could be a cave' Tsuna thought as he touched the ground

he tried moving forward to explore the area, when suddenly something glowed brightly

Taken aback, he moved backward. The glow vanished

He crouched forward to investigate further

He could see faint outlines of spherical objects lying on the ground. On touching one, the glow resumed

'Is this a torch? Did someone drop this?'

He fiddled around with the strange contraption which resembled a ...pacifier?

'Is this a surveillance device from the group which captured me? I thought Lambo would have got the traces of such a device' His eyes darkened at the possibilities of groups who knew of ways to smuggle new inventions

'It can't just be a pacifier right?'

He nudged the pacifier forward to inspect the other globular objects.

They all glistened

A sudden powerful force tugged his hand

'I have to get my hand away. It'll get ripped!-'

just then the pacifier from his hand and the six others levitated in a circle and lit up the surrounding

Expecting it to be a signal that the prisoner woke up, he tried to escape from the scene, only to run back when he saw a baby dropping from the sky!

He caught the baby and barrel rolled into the cave walls. Then immediately without checking himself for any injuries, he examined the tiny ball of life he saved for any abnormalities or wounds

* * *

He looked at the baby's inquisitive sapphire eyes bewildered

Unable to process the situation, he looked back and forth the pacifiers and the baby

It was clad in white, sucking on an orange pacifier. It would have looked cute if there weren't seven pacifiers circling around the baby as if they were conducting a ritual

Narrowing his eyes at the unknown abilities of the pacifiers, he looked sharply at the baby which was brought to life

'There is illegal activities going around here. Weren't the precautions we've adopted enough!?' he pursed his lips in anger, his free arms' fists clenched

His eyes flamed orange

"Waah Waah!" the baby's cries echoed throughout the room snapping him out of his musing

His eyes regained their gentle look when he realized he had scared the kid. Rocking the kid, he pondered on what to do

'I have nothing useful on me. Will this child die... because it is with me?' he looked sorrowfully at the baby

There was an orange pacifier shoved in front of his face as the baby brushed its tiny fingers on his arm, as if to provide comfort. He reached out to accept the gift from the considerate child with a soft smile muttering words of thanks

When his fingers touched the pacifier, images flashed and rolled forward as if it was a movie reeling without any signs of stopping. It played for a seemingly endless amount of time and refused any form of distraction. It commanded attention from its unwilling audience

Voices and sounds surrounded him as he saw a world of possibilities invading his mind, showing them in detail

There were images of the present, something which looked like the past, and strange images which seemed like from different countries or maybe even worlds

They were trying to be burned into his mind

A continuous influx of information made his head spin, and brought a sense of desperation in him

Like as if someone was trying to connect with him, like as if someone was trying to empathize with him

Someone who was supposed to be here, not him!

His eyes blazed with anger at the injustice at the possibility of his future replacing someone else. And that Kawahira tried to destroy his will and his wishes by destroying someone else's

There was death, life, sickness ,sins, blessings, memories, wishes, futures, universes...

It was as if ...the pacifier was trying to make him recognize himself as a god of this universe

He tried to forcibly remove his hand, rejecting this path chosen for him. He had things to protect!

He had people to protect! People whose faces needed smiles! People who he wanted to see smiling and breathing healthily!

_Please_ ! Don't steal it away from him!

They are the sole reason he is living for! They are his conviction, his life force, his will, his spirit

He fell to his knees, the pacifier still not relinquishing its hold on him. Tears flowing down his cheeks, but the images still clearly flowing. He could not close his eyes against it

Why?! He couldn't even be allowed to say _good bye to his family!_

His own memories flowed in ,images of poisonous cakes, rowdy rambunctious arguments, indirect awkward expressions of love and affection, the touch of reassurance...

_He couldn't lose them! No! Please!_

He started losing his sense of sanity and was starting to give in to madness when all that he stood for... to create the man Sawada Tsunayoshi was vanishing. Memories with his family flashed by him. Unitil the recent events which lead to this

* * *

_"Hayato! There's still work to be done. We're up against that Vongola! They'll figure us out immediately. We have to hurry everything up" The brunette was clutching at his desk which had articles, letters, photos, voice recordings and clippings of records and newspapers littered on it. The room was worse. There was hardly any room to stand around there. Curtains were closed and room was blocked out of electrical interference to maintain secrecy_

_The detective had holed himself there for two weeks utilizing the time his team had gone to investigate in their respective missions. He had wanted to use all the time he could get without making them act like mother hens and bears. They fussed too much. Times like these, he really appreciated Mukuro and Hibari_

_"Tsuna, you've fainted twice in the week and had slept for only 6 hours in these two weeks. We told you to stay here because we didn't want you to overwork yourself until your health spoils. There's the bullet wounds which haven't healed yet. And don't even try changing the subject to how did I find out these information. We've got hidden cameras in places where even you can't access much less detect." The silverette spoke sternly ,chastising the other. Tsuna scratched his head awkwardly_

_"Don't worry me so much, Tsuna... Do you know how scared I was when I saw that your brain activity suddenly spiked down. I was getting ready to halt the mission to check up on you" The bomber said looking forlorn ,his eyes misty with worry clouding over. His hand moved to check his pulse and checking the others' vitals while he spoke to the other_

_Tsuna looked at the other apologetically and said_

_"Sorry Hayato... I was scared... if we don't hurry and finish this operation... you guys may get ... hurt..." he finished awkwardly, turning his eyes away from the other to avoid showing his anxiety. He didn't want the pianist to think he doubted their skills after all_

_"Tsuna ,do you think that we'll get killed?" The bomber asked bluntly, making the other swivel his head to face him. Looking at the boss's unease, he sighed_

_"Trust us a bit-"_

_"I do trust you guys! I'm just worried-"_

_"We won't let them touch us. We won't let them touch a hair on you. We'll protect you. Tsuna, if you wish, I'll protect the others too. So, don't look like that. We'll be fine. But next time, when you want to protect us, would you let us to fight by your side...? It's painful to do nothing but see something precious to ... " he choked " disappear before us without managing to anything to protect you. I was helpless. When I returned from the job two weeks ago, I had to hear that you defended a civilian by acting as a shield and left you in a hospital" he kept silent to control his emotions "Please... Tsuna... Your life is precious to us... to me... We live in a world where one day we might live and the next day we might be buried in a grave. So please, let me or let anyone of us fight to keep you alive. Or try! Please" Tears streamed down his cheeks as his hand felt his dear boss's pulse consistently reminding himself that he's living ,breathing and currently with him_

_"I promise Hayato. I promise I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here" and stayed with his right hand man the whole day reassuring him continuously to give the other a peace of mind_

_A week later, a sudden visit surprised him_

_"Tsuna-nii! Let's go to the fireworks festival after the mission is completed with everyone" said the one and only Lambo ,who had broken into his office and immediately flung himself on the brunette_

_"Sure Lambo, But I'm not sure if the festivals will be open just after the mission" Tsuna tried to lightly coerce the child to give him more time after the deadline for the project which still kept him at the edge of his seat_

_Members of alliance of the Biggest mafia syndicate were making a move, creating havoc in towns and cities. Some were affecting finance by withdrawing from stocks or buying them all to monopolize funds. They were hurting financial businesses by stopping deals with big companies. It was creating a lot of problems. Because black money played a crucial role in the well being of a country ,sadly. It was playing on a minefield, according to Mukuro_

_It was rather worrisome seeing there was no reply way to know if Mukuro or Hibari was safe. They didn't like being underestimated or worried upon by the brunette ,so he couldn't contact them. Not that he could normally contact them anyway. It was always a challenge_

_"Yours truly says that this mission, like the others will be completed easily and safely. It's no big deal. We're strong and you have me! What more do you need?" the boy puffed up and continued quickly_

_"Give me your little finger" and forcibly linked their little fingers together and shaked them. Noticing the insecurity in the child, Tsuna played along_

_"Lambo, I promise that we'll find a fireworks show somewhere in the world and play together and have a great time. Or I'll swallow a thousand needles" and smiled at his younger brother figure_

_The child broke out in a wide grin and hugged him and said_

_"I'm serious, Tsuna nii. I'll even prepare the thousand needles. So we will play with the firecrackers like the rockets. Because ,people like me need to flashily create a bang. It'll be even prettier than the festival's firecrackers!" and the kid blabbered excitedly with Tsuna listening attentively with a fond smile and ruffling his hair_

_Two weeks later_

_Ryohei had personally come to punch his little brother when he heard what he did. But first he had to rescue him from the base of the terrorists. Honestly, who would go directly to the site of the bombing . You have to first challenge them front first right?_

_Charging to the main base with his team, the members were captured and restrained easily (according to Ryohei at least) .The boxer was known to be tenacious after all. He felt that they needed to be more spirited after all_

_When reaching the site of bombing, instead of going to the terrorists who were threatening the people outside with the ticking bomb, he marched straight to Tsuna and punched him. The poor lad expected him to stop the terrorists and had looked completely relieved when the boxer reached there. He didn't expect the punch even the slightest_

_"Tsuna! You should extremely call me when you plan on facing extreme people. But these people aren't very extreme. They lack spirit!" the man had completely forgotten about the terrorists and started having a casual conversation (casual for Ryohei) with the floundering Brunette who was panicking about the ruckus created_

_But the loud boisterous voice attracted attention like bees to honey, leaving Ryohei tied to a pillar in the building almost giving poor Tsuna a heart attack. By the way, the reason why Ryohei got tied up in the first place was that he challenged the group on trying to stop him from stopping them. He wanted to test their spirits... Lucky for him, they used ropes not metal chains. Most people don't really take metal chains anyway. There was a more suspicious reason actually_

_Eventually he got out of the ropes with sheer will and charged at them. They didn't know what hit them. Then he chucked the bomb towards the sky after dashing to the ceiling. It was lucky he had a good arm. The range of the bomb was pretty large after all_

_The brunette felt a couple of years being shaved of him after the whole incident_

_"Hahahaha Tsuna .That was extreme! You have the most extreme of adventures. Maybe they're attracted to your nature" the boisterous man patted him and laughed heartily_

_'No! It's just my bad luck! It sticks to me like glue!' the brunette thought exasperated_

_"Onii san, it could have been more difficult"_

_"It's because of the Vongola's alliance right? They're using their influence to back up terrorists or even inspire new ones... or force them" he looked uncharacteristically serious_

_The brunette looked speechless_

_"Of course ,I'd know anything that makes my little brother troubled. I'm your big brother after all. Don't hesitate , Tsuna. Just go forward! I'll back you up. I've got a lot of little brothers and sisters to protect after all. So call me anytime for a show down. We'll fight like men!" he said spiritedly, showing a thumbs up at his little brother and grinning widely_

_"... Got it onii san. Let's extremely fight against the Vongola and win" he said, his shoulders slacking in relief_

_A week later_

_Yamamoto had entered Tsuna's office dripping completely with blood rivaling that of bloody mary ,but smiling widely_

_The brunette scrambled from his seat and dashed towards him, his clumsiness resurfacing. His eyebrows crunched together and heart beating as fast as those of F1 cars_

_"Takeshi! How- Who did this! H-Hospital! Lie down and rest!" tears seemed to build up and he could feel his throat choking up_

_"Tsuna, I'm fine. Calm down. It's the Chinese Mafia. They sent some people to kill us. It's their blood. They aren't dead. But we had to_..._ incapacitate them" he finished darkly_

_All the adrenaline in his body seem to end as he calmed down after hearing the baseball player's explanation_

_"We've got information on the Vongola. All gathered and shared amongst the others"_

_"Huh?" he was speechless. He thought it would take more time. They got only info about the alliance groups, the special assassination group and the CEDEF with great difficulty. Particularly the CEDEF_

_"We wouldn't have gotten everything if you didn't get the information on the CEDEF. From there it was easy to get the remaining information" Yamamoto said smiling. Tsuna felt morbidly curious on how did the remaining information get captured so easily_

_"We updated everyone once everything was captured. Incomplete information brings misunderstandings only, after all. Plus I wanted to tell you directly. Hahaha, it was worth it looking at your relieved face right now" he said and patted him_

_"What now boss?" He said playfully_

_"I'll read up on the report first"_

_The jock tutted playfully and said_

_"Work is important Tsuna ,but you need to relax for sometime. I've invited the others for a sushi party. I've sent some sushi to Hibari and Mukuro, since they said they aren't coming. They don't change do they? Ahahaha. Want to play baseball for old times sake?" He asked excitedly_

_Tsuna visibly paled at the offer but his opinions were ignored and so he was forcibly brought to the baseball ground to play or survive with his life intact_

_The smile on Takeshi's face was worth it_

* * *

A month later

_An exhausted brunette got surprise visits from some unexpected people_

_The first was a romantic reunion with a beloved who would kiss him as soon as it entered, Hibari Kyoya's tonfa. This time, the man was furious_

_"The proposal is rejected" He said coldly as he entered and moved towards the semi conscious brunette. He then lifted him by the collar_

_"You will not meet the Millefiore. Sawada Tsunayoshi. Do not take my prey"_

_"Wouldn't it take your living space ,Kyoya?" the brunette tried reasoning with him ,knowing that his refusals would be ignored. He also wanted to know the reason why he wouldn't let_

_Kusakabe entered with a stack of paper and placed it on the desk_

_"Tsuna-san, these are the papers containing all the basic information on the Millefiore. Tell me when you're done reading it. I will supply you with more information. I will be staying here so feel free to call me anytime anywhere"_

_Tsuna looked shocked at the stacks awaiting him, leaving him bewildered at the information network of the ex-prefect again. No matter how many times he saw it, he was always awed_

_"But we were going to settle negotiations" He tried again, knowing how futile the argument would be_

_"You're planning on going on a suicide mission. I will not allow it" The stoic man looked coldly at him. The gaze was so frigid, the intentions were so clear to both parties. They understood each other deeply after all. If Tsuna were to disagree, he would be killed on the spot. That was certain, the killing intent directed solely at him suffocated him_

_Tsuna looked at him resigned , he wanted to explain his reasons. Maybe then, the other would agree_

_"Kyoya-"_

_"This level of mission doesn't even satisfy my boredom. I will take care of the Millefiore, I'm interested in the reason why would you go so far after all. **I will bite you to death if you spoil my fun" **His eyes glinted dangerously as he bared his fangs at a potential challenge. His body faced near the brunette i such a way that any rebuttals would be punished severely._

_"I will tear your limbs if you plan on getting near Millefiore. That way, **you will not dare interfere" **he said, eyes blood thirsty and targetting an overwhelming amount of killing intent at the boss_

_Now there was no option left for Tsuna except to leave the matter to Hibari_

_He sat on the chair and sighed. His intuition said that there was something more to Millefiore than what was written. It was a risky move and would mostly lead to his death, but could give vital information which could potentially open doors to a new world_

_He thought maybe he could oppose Hibari's will this time only to get that information. Sometimes a man should fight, Ryohei told him that after all .And Hayato did say they lived a life where they could die any time..._

_"Kufufu looks like the birdie got the plaything this time. But strange things do happen sometimes, right? Tsunayoshi-kun still plans on going. But it's not fair that you or I can go if the game's player is that blood puffing degenerate" The illusionist popped up in his personal space and cleanly read his intentions_

_Tsuna panicked ,not at the sudden arrival of the bluenette; that was normal. It was rather the fact that his intentions were so cleanly read_

_"You let your guard down. Well, it is pretty obvious that you're interested in meeting them regardless of me seeing you face to face. The letter is obvious proof. At least, it is to me. But what's more surprising is that, the birdie got a wind of your schemes" And he brought a platinum gun to his forehead and pulled the trigger_

_._

_._

_._

_A blank shot was fired_

_The brunette remained completely calm and the illusionist chuckled and continued_

_"This is what will happen if you go there. Because, the boss knows who you are. Which is the most interesting thing about this case .To be more precise, this is what would happen"_

_He snapped his fingers, people entered the room and surrounded the area without any confusion. The place was filled up in a minute and in the next minute they loaded their guns and aimed at the brunette and pressed the trigger._

_Tsuna grunted from the pain and slouched immediately. Mukuro crouched in front of him and spoke to him directly .His heterochromatic eyes peered into auburn eyes_

_"These bullets are specially made to not penetrate a humans body. But this is a fraction of the pain you would feel there. Isn't it painful? I don't want my precious pawn to feel such discomfort." the honey like voice laced with danger reached his ears and he was still recovering from the pain of those dummy bullets ,but..._

_"Mukuro, there is something about the boss of the Millefiore. And I can find it only if I meet him directly. I just know that it is a life changing topic. So I have to meet him for the slim chance of getting him to tell it. I'll put recorder in my ear so that you guys can get the information and continue the mission" he decided to just tell the truth_

_"So you know that you will die if you go there? But you still want to go there? Then ? After that ,what would happen to the team?"_

_"Well, either the team members number decreases with one of you as the new leader or some one else would be the leader. There are more than a billion people in the world. It would be easy to replace me. There are times when a man should fight .Mukuro, you know you guys are the best things that happened in my life. I'm seriously grateful I met you guys. Tell them that for me. I'm planning on going tomorrow_

_So I want more people to feel like their lives are worth it. So I want to help them. If I do this, I can also help them out, after all" He said smiling so serenely, his intuition saying he should go even though he would die obviously_

_"Oh ,and tell Lambo I'm sorry-"_

_*Bang*_

_And the man slumped down with Mukuro looking coldly upon him_

_"Tsunayoshi kun, It's so cruel that you want to leave us. It seems I have to investigate this case thoroughly because you would leave us for that Millefiore boss, Byakuran Gesso" His eyes darkened as he smiled sinisterly_

_Then he dragged Tsuna upto his bed and made him to lie down on it_

_"I was right on coming here with a tranquilizer gun. I always thought that his intuition was beneficial to his health. But to think it could make him suicidal. Keep a watch on him, Nagi. Don't let him out of your sight."_

_From the shadows came a woman with a somber expression_

_"Tsunayoshi, I will make sure you pay the debt of making Nagi sad. But too bad, you have nothing interesting to offer for me. So I shall keep you around longer" saying that ,he vanished_

* * *

_The next day,_

_Sawada Tsunayoshi was in front of the the Gesso base... escorted by Chrome Dokuro. She had a perfect poker face while the brunette couldn't have looked more confused. He thought he would have been in house arrest until the case would be over but to think he would be here by simply answering "yes" to her equally simple question_

_"Boss, Do you want to visit the Gesso famiglia?"_

_They were requested to go through a special route given in the envelope which the poor lad had to memorize in 30 seconds because of a self destruct feature of the letter. Luckily, memorization skills were beaten into his head by a very strict teacher of his who had sent an equally scary letter that morning. Beautifully black and laced with gold, the letter's contents was very dreary_

_'Dear stupid student of mine,_

_I found out that you plan on volunteering yourself to be killed._

_The next time I come to visit you, and if you are alive, I will train you from the beginning .But, this time I will not go easy on you. Sheesh, repaying people's heartfelt kindness with this kind of response. It seems I still need to train you properly._

_And if you are dead, I will make you swallow thousand needles as per the deal with that stupid cow child ._

_You better be breathing, Tsuna'_

_When he opened the door of fate, he met a very cheerful Byakuran Gesso who was very surprised to see him_

_"You actually came, even though you knew that you would die?"_

_"Well there was chances of peaceful negotiations after all"_

_"Don't play dumb. It was obviously a trap"_

_"And you've got your eyes set on world domination right?"_

_"Uwaah, you knew that you would play a stepping stone if you came. Are you suicidal?"_

_"No, I just wanted to know a few things before that"_

_There was a very crafty smile on the marshmallow lover_

_"It's about how I know you right? To think you'd come just to hear that. I'm impressed. Or could it be that even in this universe fate dictates your actions? I'll tell you everything about the mysterious organizations Arcobaleno, Millefiore and Vongola as a special service" and he opened his mouth and spoke making Tsuna's eyes widen in fractions until he couldn't even blink_

_"Interesting? Unbelievable? Lies? Neutral? How do you feel hearing all that? About what is the difference in power held here and held by you? Does it feel unfair, Sawada Tsunayoshi? You know what's more unfair? This power will remain in our monopoly and the police or the law or even you vigelante can't even reach us. Oh ,here's a fun fact for you. Vongola was also a vigelante, just like you. How does it feel to be associated to one of things you despise most in the world. An organization which was responsible for the casualities during the six months you've tried to graze it. That too, indirectly?_

_That tutor of yours knows everything you've been trying to dig up this half year. Frustrating isn't it? How does such a betrayal feel like?"_

_"... Reborn has nothing to do with the organization I've stood to make, nor does he have anything to do with the will or conviction I have to protect those dear to me. Why should he tell me anything? I would even fight him, if it meant keeping the people I want to protect ,safe. But even then ,I will protect him. Because he is also one of the people I wish to keep under my care_

_It's just a selfish wish after all"_

_Byakuran seemed bored to hear it, like as if he had heard it millions of times before. He snapped his finger and people entered the room surrounding him on all sides, the guns looking exactly same as the one Mukuro brought. All he could see was an expanse of white. It looked just like the demonstration Mukuro gave yesterday. This time the bullets would pass through him_

_And he will not see tomorrow. He felt so calm at that moment._

_'I did tell Chrome to leave me be here, right? Thank goodness ,she won't get involved'_

_He could see his whole life passing by his eyes, from a lonely toddler to a person surrounded by his precious people. He lived a very fulfilling life_

_'Ah, but I do regret some things. I can't see their smiles from tomorrow onwards. I can't stay by their side and protect them anymore. I can't fulfill the promises I kept with them anymore..._

_I wish we could more time together. Dame Tsuna can't get too many things going for him'_

_He closed his eyes waiting for the end to come_

_Suddenly he felt that he was lifted up and then dragged forward_

_"Boss. I said I'll escort you to the Gesso famiglia. But I will not abandon you or give you to the Gesso famiglia. We need you Boss" she said dashing with him ,trying to bring them to safety_

_He was shocked, then his face slowly split into a grin_

_"Thank you ,Chrome! Let's go back together to our home"_

_She smiled back at him_

_"Yes boss"_

_There was a jet which whizzed towards them and Chrome maneuvered them into it in record time ,entering the plane after Tsuna. Just then a bullet was shot and the woman pushed the brunette to cover him, getting shot in his place_

_"Chrome!"_

* * *

Eyes turned duller, words of prayer left his lips. Words begging for forgiveness for the countless promises he had broken. He couldn't fulfill them. If that mission went successfully, he could go to Chrome and apologize to her that he couldn't protect her that time. She was going to regain conscious that time. He was looking forward to it

Now the chance was lost

The man on top of the world reduced to such a blithering mess was surely a sight to see

His other hand moves to chest, in a symbol of a prayer as he prayed long and hard for a wish which simply seemed too far to reach

The ones he considered his dearest, his treasure

Their smiling faces, their antiques ,their gestures, all seemed to grey out with the possibility of never seeing them again

His lips formed words ,gasping and out of breadth

"_Please... don't leave me. I'll do anything_"

Memories of the time when he was all alone, weeping and in despair with the world against him. The time when he had nothing his hands could hold or nurture and support

It came back to him

He felt so weak... so useless...

_Dame Tsuna_

"Please ...

Hayato...

Takeshi...

Chrome...

Onii-san...

Kyoya...

Mukuro...

Lambo...

... Reborn...

.

.

.

_Help me_"

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**I'm too young to have a Daughter! part 1**

It stopped. The flow of images stopped. The pacifier was just glowing orange. The baby giggled oblivious to the gloom excluded from the brunette. The other pacifiers were circling them

What he saw seemed to be reality. The pacifiers seemed to urging him to accept the place as his reality. From now on, the memories he would have had would be that of delusions. Because they didn't exist in his reality

His fist crunched together until blood seeped from his palms to the ground below. But the pain showed it was reality. Was what he had a delusion, was he living a dream until now? Is this child a figment of his information? Are those pacifiers a result of it?

Was he just a boy who was so lonely he had imagined a group of people who would consider him as something special? No matter how many times he pinched himself he would not wake up. Was this a curse Kawahira put on him because he was too stubborn? Isn't Life just unfair? Who was he to try changing it

Look at what happened- he was isolated ...again. Dame dame Tsuna. Tsunayoshi Sawada who wasn't good at anything and clumsy to a fault that his parents left him all alone in that world too. But the food he would try to create would be inedible, but he didn't have any way to get money. The money from their insurance was for his upbringing so he couldn't get gifts. He couldn't try impressing them with things he had. Nor could he gift them anything they wanted

Jobs would end in failure because he was clumsy and useless...

He was shy before, he didn't have much to say. He was plain in both appearance and personality. He read books all night and all day in public libraries to suppress hunger. He'd rather read rather than eat the things he was to cook. But books on theory didn't interest him. He wasn't good at school like books, so he didn't get book like smarts. He read novels, quizzes, puzzles and brain teasers to pass time. He knew it wouldn't help in his life

But it made him more observant, he wanted to distract himself from his issues. There were too many and he didn't have the energy to solve them all. Why would he want to feel better? He was a failure. He observed where people went, how they reacted ,how they moved ,what were their interests. Eventually his curiousity in novels developed and he started deducing what would happen or what was the reason. He learned how to gather information faster when he found out that his interests made him cook a bit better due to constant observation. He practiced double the time people did, thinking that if he could just cope up with normal life. It didn't work. He was still useless

But maybe it was here that he started disillusioning that he had friends. That he could sympathize with the people he met by circumstance and thus formed memories with them. That they could accept him and let him stay by their side. That they could support each other .Even if it made him look like a lonely fool, he couldn't help want such people

He didn't even have any proof that they existed. If he had moved to another world, would they have forgotten about him or would they think about him as constantly as he thinks about them? Will they exist in this world? Would they miss him... or did his existence not make any difference in the end? Or did his presence stop them from reaching their full potential? Was he just a burden to them?

What should he do now?

Just as his mind spiraled towards negative thoughts, the child in his arms started crying

"Oh sorry, did I grasp you too tightly?" He said and loosened his grip but the child continued crying

"Do you feel... lonely? Even if I'm here...? I'm sorry, I'm not very good company" He smiled sadly at the crying child

Then he had a light bulb moment

"Wait. Aren't you just hungry? But I have nothing on me right now. Ah right, this might be near Namimori. Then there must be a person called Sawada Nana..." he said getting lost in another spiral of sad thoughts

The cry grew louder and the man shuffled outside. The brightness seemed very strange to him even though he lived the most of his previous life thinking sunlight as normal. He could completely appreciate the small gestures his current life offered him

He looked at himself.

'Is it just my imagination or have I shrunk or have I reverted to my youth? Nah, I'm probably being paranoid. I have to find a water source anyway. Might as well look if I changed. Though it's most probably my imagination'

There was only greenery surrounding them. He looked confused seeing no recognizable species of plants.

He gathered leaves and made a makeshift bed with them.

"For now, rest over there. I will search for supplies. Ahaha... you don't really understand what I'm saying right? I... will be going now. Stay safe..."

He tried some berries he found making marks at a broad long leaf as an indicator for possible food sources.

The next day, he found that all the food he tried didn't get him sick ,so he made them to paste and fed it to the child. He found it odd that none of the food made him sick. Then it came back to him. Reborn always told him to rely on his instincts. They always got him out of the most stickiest of situations. They never failed him... but he wished it could be used to save the people he cared about. Then chrome wouldn't have...

It was the third night and they made slow progress on the adaptation to their new life. They had to travel continuously to different regions to search for human life. Tsuna had created a small camp fire to keep the child warm again

"I'm sorry. I'm probably making you feel lonely .I don't wan't people feeling the same emotions I felt when I was a child " he said and brought the child closer for more human contact. Cradling it. He said

"Oh right. You don't have a name right? I'll give you one. A very pretty one for a very beautiful girl like you" he said looking at the child. He had started to use those instincts subconsciously. Said child stared at him curiously, her sapphire eyes peering into his auburn eyes

"How about Sepira?" hearing that the child made a childish giggle

"Then it's decided. Let's get along from now, Sepira-chan" the brunette said smiling warmly at her

The duo travelled for a time which seemed eternal. The surroundings seem to be slowly changing. The first signs of humanity seen were people who looked so primitive they distinctly spoke different languages from what the brunette spoke. But he was starved for human accompaniment that he tried his best to learn the language using the instincts he'd been honing

* * *

Time passed as they became somewhat permanent residents in the colony. But the strange thing was that they didn't seem to age

It was a battle to just survive. There were tribal wars, but the strategies employed were so primitive that a person like him who played games which were in the end supplementing strategic battle made him a commander in the colony. Tsuna was also charismatic and had a way with words seeing that he was the former boss of a team which basically controlled the judicial system and in a way the boss of people who could be considered rulers of the world. They had difficult personalities too. He also attracted people, especially strange ones towards himself too

These characteristics made the colony he lived achieve consecutive victories

It also did many bad things. People where he lived started observing things. Their way of thinking started getting complex with the advancement and sharing of ideas. There was a person who lived in the future with them too. But the two lived with the local people for a long time .So both of them were used to each other. But the two strange ones were considered gods.

First the wheel was invented

Inventions were starting to be built, spurred on by Tsuna and his implementation of some basic things he had used in the future

Then their minds grew enough until they learned how to sin. Seven of them developed. Then they fought for the monopoly of the 'two gods' to gain more prosperity

Wars shed blood. Even if Tsuna wanted to fight to protect. The basic strategies like traps and lures, rumors to keep people away, and lies to save someone else's lives were used to hurt and kill people

Spikes from tools and sprouts and deep pits filled with predatory animals were used to kill people instead of trapping them and giving them the option to move back. Tsuna had made tunnels in the pits leading back to the village. He even tried to reallocate the village to the trees so that only the villagers could access the the village via a raft which used a pulley system to lift em up.

People would left trapped to die under starvation or be eaten by animals considered protectors of the villages. as for the pulley system, people were hanged or pushed down from heights. People would try using their elevated platform to burn their enemies below using controlled burning with careful aiming at specific locations. Walls were burnt

The carnage would be shown to scare other villagers. The colony used fear to control other villages. A sort of kingdom was created

Tsuna couldn't help the victims either, because he would be fed wrong information, lied so blatantly with the excuse of trying to protect his feelings

"Papa" Sepira said looking at the brunette .The baby started toddling, but could speak complete conversations because she was older than the remaining villages

The brunette had been toiling over the napolean attitude of the locals he lived with. He paused and looked at the child ,completely shocked

"S-Sepira?! Are you talking about me?"

"Well you're the one who brought me into this world. Aunt says that kind of person is your dad"

"B-but I'm not your dad! I haven't even had -" he was about to continue but felt completely depressed then and then started muttering

"I'm a healthy adult. I've had romantic feelings towards people too... but how come I've never been in any relationship with anyone. Ah! I didn't even have my first kiss!" he looked shocked at the revelation

"Ah it's because of the ruckus the people around me do. These guys used to be such sweet people. We used to share ideas and recipes. They've been kind enough to accept intruders like us. We don't even age properly. We've been busy everyday for survival and information gathering ... If it's just the primitive age, it will be a long time before we can contact with people of different countries too. Then there is the problem of these guys trying to conquer everything. They dont even listen to me. They're just like ... my team in that case" he muttered reminiscing the past when he tried to find how on earth did he miss the relationship stage of his life. Then a new revelation came upon him which made him pretty upset

"They've kept me busy with their ridiculous schemes and I'm basically their mom like figure! So that's how..." he became depressed

"I can't even help it. I just spoil them naturally" he sighed. Sepira patted his shoulder and asked him

"Then if you weren't responsible for my birth. The who was? Aunt says that a family consists of a mom, dad and the kids. Families are blessed by the gods , they've said. So who're my parents?" she looked so hopeful that it reminded him the young him who loved both his parents and the him who expected them to love him back

"Sepira ,you guessed right. I'm your dad. Mom isn't here but. Is papa not enough for you?" he decided to let the misunderstanding continue for now .He wanted to see the smile on the child more, so he would speak a lie. Well even if he isn't her biological dad, he loved her enough to rival a real one. Besides he would treasure her more , he won't become like his dad

* * *

The relatively peaceful life they lived ended when the feelings of despise among the colonies due to constant wars became mutually aimed at the duo.

"Burn them at the stakes! These devils have tempted us with strange ideas and forced us to take arms against each others while they lived blissfully in ignorance" A joined rally with hundreds of people were near the place where the 'devils' stayed

'Ah ,The view changes all the time. It's because we never age but the people close to us die .But we don't get sick nor can we die. How many generations have passed anyway? No one can properly remember us. We have no real bonds anyway. The time we spend are too small. I can't have enough

Anything I try make them hurt each other. In the end it is my fault. I wanted to spend more time with them... Even if they never accepted me completely. Even if they kept me at a distance. It's our just desserts' the young man thought looking sadly at the events

"Sepira, you must leave here fast. Sooner or later ,they will come here to kill us. We've lived for so long. It's more than enough and we've developed many memories too with people we consider precious to us"

"Papa! They're here to burn us! We have to escape!"

"We can't escape together, someone will notice and chase us. I don't want you to feel such pain ...I will beg them to at least let you free"

"I don't want to be separated from you! Papa if you have not noticed yet, no one lives as long as we do! If one of us dies, the other will feel lonely! It's common sense! No one lives long enough to make such a strong impression anyway!"

"Sepira, don't reject the people surrounding us so quickly. They've been kind enough to give us a place to call home"

"We can find that if we move to another village!"

"The difference between a home and a house would be that in a home, people welcome us and keep us company but a house is just a place to live in. The various aunts and uncles you've seen worried about us ,played with us, visited us, hung around us and supported us. It's my fault that such wonderful people got hurt .So they don't want us anymore"

"Then let me also die with you. I'll keep you company even when you die" She said, her eyes glinting with a conviction he had seen in his team. Nothing he could say would convince her anymore

He bent down and hugged her and said

"Sorry Sepira, I couldn't give you more good memories. I'm sorry that you had to choose this, because no matter how I try, there aren't people like us"

"Even if there was a person like me ,I would choose to be with you until the end. Papa, you've always had this lonely look on you. I don't want such lonely things to be your last memories"

The doors slammed open along with people armed with weapons .They grabbed the pair and forced them to the execution .On Tsuna's request, they accepted to not torture to small girl. They brought her to a guillotine . The moment they impromptu decided to behead her, the brunette's head jerked forward in shock. They had restricted his movements so no matter how much he tried to move forward, left ,right backward he was stuck there

"_N-No! P-Please NO! She's just a child! Why -How can you do that. Please... Please... Please go easy on her!_ "

the crowd was roaring with excitement at the event and the reactions of the man who was to be executed. His words could be heard ,but were strongly ignored

He tried to put all his strength to break free

"Damn! Move dammit! Move arms ! feet! neck! _anything!_"

The child was pushed onto the guillotine

"I get it. Please spare the child. You can do whatever you want. I won't give up easily. I won't try to stop the suffering ... so _please! please! please!_ spare her"

They pushed her neck at the hole opening and fastened it so the child wouldn't try to escape

"_Please! Please spare her! She's my daughter! Sepira is my only daughter!_"

*Swish* the blades fell, severing her head from the body. The crowd cheered wildly while the broken man muttered words

"S-sep...ira Papa is sorry... Papa is sorry... I-I-I couldn't p-protect you! _I couldn't protect you..._" memories of chrome being shot and Sepira's beheading began replaying in his head as he repeated the words over and over again

The executioners then moved over to the man whose arms and legs had shackled with red marks from the blood dripping because of the struggle he put up. He muttered

"If I struggled more, I could have snapped my hands and feet and crawled over your side and protected you. I'm not strong enough" .His eyes shadowed with self hatred as he looked down and then he sent a hollow chuckle as he muttered

"In the end, I couldn't fulfill any of my promises. Sorry ,Sepira, Lambo, Chrome, Onii san, Hayato, Kyoya, Mukuro, Takeshi..." he sobbed, tears falling on the ground

Surprising that parental love and human love along with human like appearance, emotions and normal interactions with people isn't enough for humans to empathize with someone else

the executioners cut off his hands and feet then his limbs. He screamed as they cut of the limbs slowly without letting him die easily. The lifted the half dead body to the pyre to burn him alive with his organs. Sepira's body was thrown into the bed with other dead bodies

They weren't even allowed to be together even in death

* * *

**A/N: I dunno where chapter 4 went. It was also one of the most dramatic of chapters of this work too. Too bad. I guess this is what I get for using multiple accounts and generally making a mess out of organizing things.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**The turnabout**

Sawada Tsunayoshi ,at the age of twelve got an ability which would eventually lead him straight forward towards glory and fame. In fact it helped him become a king per say, one who had the reigns to justice... one who played judgement on others. It was the ability of deduction and reasoning

This skill actually got born due to the lad's desperation to bring back his old reality by playing as the town's phantom helper. He wished to erase the fact that his home would be forever deserted and the people he sworn to protect were switched with paper that ensured his only survival

Fate sure was laughing at the boy who was willing to let down his life for his family

As a child, you're generally not taken seriously. So the will of Sawada Tsunayoshi does not matter to the world. It spins only on the palms of the powerful who only shadow these tiny life forms

The identity of Sawada Nana was shadowed by the infamous presence of her son. It added to the burdens of the emotionally intelligent child who understood that he had truly brutally taken the entire life of his mom

So he desperately tried to patch his life back together. He learnt how to cook as fast as he could and made the five bentos as his mom would. He feasted upon the smiles that people would give when something good happened to them... even though they would never know who granted that cheer. He even made a habit of entering and leaving his own room from the window and making a makeshift kitchen in it

It was rather pitiful to see how broken the boy was, and see the extents he took to avoid reality

It changed when he was twelve

The brunette was returning from his school all bruised and battered from the usual harrasment. The tired lad tried to do what every lad does when they had a rough day at school, try to get some rest back at home

Though... it had already been somewhere around 7-8pm at night. Hey, he was a kid who did superhero-ing as a hobby ...even though his reasons were a bit twisted

It was a start of an encounter of a beautiful friendship

It started with a kiss

with the tonfa of Namimori's strongest, Hibari Kyoya

In flesh with his entire body seething pure killing intent, with a look of royalty staring right at him with disgust ,stood the prefect pointing the same tonfa who had probably sinned in taking all the citizens' lips and possibly hearts (by causing a close enough heart attack on seeing then because of their hearts beating from pure primal fear)

"Queen..." was the words uttered by the boy who's luck diminishes as his life goes on. Hibari's eyes twitches, but he remained professional as he had other potential herbivores to bite to death

"Herbivore, trespassing Namimori property is prohibited "

The statement baffled the brunette. After all, he was only trying to go back to his home

"... Hibari-san, this is my home. The home plate says Sawada and I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi" when you play superhero for fun, people usually develop a spine, you know. Not to mention, he felt comfortable with the stoic disciplinary when he prepared a bento for the other for five years

This was when the prefect took a closer look at the child in front of him. It was a puzzle for him, why was this child climbing up to his room? If he had lost his keys, entering through the living room made more sense, if he had wanted to gain access to his house. The child opted a move which other people would only accuse of as burglary

"Why climb?" he asked inquisitively, wondering if the other was as dumb as the rumors said

"To enter my house, Hibari-san" Tsuna dead panned

"...Why not through the living room, there's a window nearby that you could break or open to enter" the prefect tried reasoning directly, despite his growing irritation for the boy

"What are you talking about Hibari-san? I was going to my room. Why would I go to the living room?"

"... For the moment, shouldn't you try knocking the door? Nana Sawada doesn't seem to be having any night duties according to her record" the Nanimori obssessed prefect wisely suggested

the only reason why the violent prefect didn't just knock the boy unconscious was that the he knew of the deeds the other did. It built a sense of comradary between them

"Mom is really tired lately and sleeps a lot. It's difficult raising a family by herself when the dad is trying to live a life as a star"

"But to be so tired that her own son has to enter the house through the window?"

"I'm used to it, Hibari-san. Don't worry about it"

The gentle coaxing of the lad could leave no choice but to give up, but the demon of Namimori was known for his tenacity

So began the information gathering of the elusive Sawada Tsunayoshi. But when you become so interested that you conduct an investigation on a person, the shrouded mists clear up and questions popped up

And the perpetuater of the obento was found to be none other than the suspect. And the suspense thickens. Why does he prepare a lunchbox fpr five everyday? Why does he go out of the way to avoid letting anyone know that he brings it for them? What's so bad about gifting obentos? Why does he help people anonymously? The fame would definitely make him more likeable though... so why? Why hasn't any complain arrive from his guardians regarding his intense bullying? Why hasn't he shifted?

A few days of investigations later, the prefect couldn't believe the discoveries he'd made after pulling strings to check the boy out. His face scrunched to that of fury when he'd seen what was happening right under his nose

If Sawada Nana and Sawada Iemitsu were killed, by accident and by ... assasination... who was providing support to the lad? Why did the lad make his life more difficult by lying? Why did their existence seemingly be erased? Were these the only ones who'd gone through such an experience?

* * *

The sad incidents made the demon of Namimori feel powerless from the plays in Namimori taken from the shadows

But the prefect knew one thing, the one who played Namimori's clown held all the answers

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, withholding information is **forbidden**. **What happened to the Sawada family?**" his eyes glinted with a warning

"What do you mean? I don't mean to brag but my family's wonderful and all I can hope for"

"**Your family is dead**" he coldly said, feeling a bit confused at the completely truthful look he was given

"...H-huh? Hibari-san that comment is quite distasteful "

The shocked look confirmed a new suspicion .Eyes hardening up, the prefect knew he had to bring the boy to reality, for Namimori's sake and the brunette's

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, Sawada Iemitsu is dead"

"W-wait H-hibari-san-"

"He was shot to dead. You must have gotten the money for his service in the mafia"

"H-hibari-"

"Sawada Nana is dead from a traffic accident"

"T-that's not true-"

"These are the images of the corpse of your mother from the morgue along with the death certificate" and he threw it at the other's body

The tinier boy started shivering

"I've sent Kusakabe to check your house, there is no body hair or fingerprints around the house"

Tsuna started huddling up closer to himself

"The kitchen's shifted and the electric bill's mostly from upstairs. Not to mention the dust and webs downstairs "

Muffled chocking voices could be heard

"The supposed bill from Iemitsu's services also came right near you mother's death too. I've heard that your mother and you father's marriage was one of love? I can see that it was that of eloping seeing that there were no relatives who could take care of you. There's something suspicious here. **Tell me everything**"

Only whimpering could be heard

"There has been no place in and around japan, where your mother has been working. Any more than that would be difficult to travel back and forth. But I've checked, no records in passenger planes, army planes-"

"I get it! W-w-why would you!? Why?!-"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi. They're dead and no matter what you try, you can't atone for their deaths. The dead don't speak, walk, respond, understand or feel. They don't exist in the world. The only traces of their lives are their bodies. They're just corpses"

there was silence. But Hibari wanted the nightingale to sing, so when he tried to convince the other again, he heard it sing

And his eyes widened and widened and widened as it sang its tale from beginning to end

"The... Vongola's external adviser? So the money was also hush money?" Hibari asked feeling disgusted on behalf of the broken promise as well as the underhanded deals being taken place

"I found it strange that the relatives never even heard of us, when they passed away... so I checked around. I figured out that we've been erased from the surface when dad had got such an important job...

That money... I didn't need it . So I used it to go for some place during the vacations or holidays to check up some things anonymously. After all, Sawada Tsunayoshi didn't exist in the surface. Not to mention that they would try to remove suspicious moves from a powerful executive's son

I visited the places dad used to spill to me .He was rather trusting towards his family after all. Or more specifically, I got that information in hopes that I would use it to keep mom safe

The ones close to dad and mom were killed. The remaining were given connections that'd distract them from my parents death. Mom was known as a widow 'round here. She knew that too. But what she said didn't matter. She basically was one due to dad's occupation. We were to live in Nanimori because it was peaceful. That was the pretext. There's some other stuff why... like your uncle, Fong and the fact that I'm also a candidate or was a candidate. My moves made me too risky to consider as one

Now I'm just under surveillance... or was. Maybe it was because of the fact that I couldn't acknowledge their deaths. There's also the fact that their first generation lived here at the end and mostly because of you, Hibari-san. Your power is rather famous in the underground. There are yakuza still around here. There's bullying around here. There's thievery, lost and founds, damaging of property. There's a lot of unrest in the town and it's because of famiglias. This place is a hot spot " The boy said everything with a straight face, but his body posture and face made his look ashen and burnt out. There was only misery

Hibari took all the information in and analysed it carefully. After a moment of silence, he asked

"You said that you were a target of recruitment. So, if you're deleted from their list due to suspicion of possessing too much knowledge and you're telling me everything. I'm also deleted from that list right? So what would you say are the chances of such a situation happening to Namimori again?" he looked at the other wondering exactly how much the other could analyze

"Yes you are ,but I'm not completely out. The Vongola have a heir called Xanxus who can't be one even if he is gung-ho about it. But he has a violent streak too. So he could kill all heirs"

"On possession of too much information, will they target Namimori?" his eyes blazed with determination against darkened ones

"No, because I'm a person who can't make any friendly contact with someone, let alone make friends with them. They wouldn't consider information leak"

Seemingly satisfied, the other turned around and left leaving the brunette hanging without any hope. He turned around and trudged into the house through the entrance, eyes full of tears, regret making him slouching even further as his eyes couldn't turn away from the truth as he wondered

* * *

'What am I going to do now?'

A new day had risen and the young emotionally damaged Sawada Tsunayoshi had woken up with a dilemma and no time on his hands. He had prepared the lunch boxes with accustomed practice

With a sigh, he realized that it was the first... no ,second time now that he had entered the living room in a year, now. It was dark and gloomy

"Hibari-san shouldn't have visited yesterday" he said softly. Knowing that he couldn't run away from the truth forever and there would be a time where he'd have to face his feelings of guilt and loneliness, he whispered again

"A little more time would be nice..."

He looked at the clock and realized that he'd have to go soon if he'd have to keep the lunchboxes in the benches

Usually, the gallant child would take extra precautions in order to not get caught, like wearing a disguise .Also, the only form of interaction the child got with humans would be with his 'clients' and the public library's books. This would mean, he pranced around in the morning, lurking near a school for kids with an elaborate costume

It was suspicious enough to get a request from a worried parent

"Vigilante-san, please take care of a coat covered man, somewhat in his twenties carrying a pink bag. One look and you can say he's suspicious! My daughter says that the people of her school have seen him loitering around the school at mornings. How dreadful!"

The poor vigilante felt like weeping

So, the child went to the school at early mornings so as to not get caught, as his disguises were atrocious and his stealth skill was basically non-existent

This day was of no exception. It was summer in Namimori, and the boy dressed up with a Hawaiian coat with a grass skirt. It seemed perfect to him as the book he read told him what the locals wore at summer (In Hawaii though)

He stood out like a balloon in a cemetery

When he reached the classroom of a certain boxer, there were lights aimed at him

Fate never did like him... and you always strike the iron when it's hot, but in this case ,it would be when Sawada Tsunayoshi was the weakest

The brunette looked just like a deer caught in headlights. Especially because the people who caught him were the ones who the recipient of the boxes

"Kyoko, we've caught him in the act" a droning voice came out. Kurokawa Hana, a black haired girl entered the classroom, still focusing her torchlight at him

Then a very cheerful voice replied followed by the appearance of one of the targets: Sasagawa Kyoko

"Is that true ,Hana-chan? We can finally meet him? I wonder who he is?" The bubbly short haired brunette clapped cheerfully and looked over as she entered the classroom

"HE'S THERE?! I'M COMING OVER THERE NOW!" a booming voice erupted followed by the sound of running. Then the door slammed open and the other target entered: Sasagawa Ryohei, the white haired boxer had rushed in quite flashily

The clattering sounds unfroze the poor brunette as he opened his mouth to babble out excuses

"Save the excuses ,Sawada. We know its you there" Kurokawa said disinterestedly

"H-h-how-"

"From your voice and that response there. Also, the way you panic is similar. You always do that in class after all" she replied

"Wow, Hana-chan! You're so smart!" Kyoko was clearly impressed and Ryohei seemed lost

"Sawada? Who's that?"

It was now Hana's turn to be shocked

"I can understand Kyoko's brother's confusion, but Kyoko?! He's our classmate"

"SAWADA! HOW DO YOU PUT LUNCH BOXES IN OUR DESKS EVERYDAY WITHOUT US KNOWING? AND WITH THESE KIND OF COSTUMES! THAT'S AN EXTREME TRAINING YOU ARE DOING FOR LEARNING TO BE A NINJA!"

Tsuna looked at him confused

"A ninja? I'm not trying-"

"Sawada-kun, your lunch boxes are always so delicious .Teach me how to make some of the dishes you've made. Please? Hana and I always talk about how delicious they are"

Being bombarded with comments and questions by the Sasagawa siblings, the brunette was slowly being backed to a corner, both figuratively and literally

Then his messiah arrived in the form of one Kurokawa Hana

"You two should give him some space. He'll be able to answer some questions then. So, why have you been putting lunch boxes in our benches?"

"I-I'm sorry! I won't do it again-"

"No, I'm not angry at you Sawada. I'm just curious .Why are you doing lunch box deliveries anyway? No one knows that you're the one doing these and you go to such extremes to give them to us. You don't really know us either, yet you've been giving these boxes to us for five years now"

"Why do you want to know? It's not really that big of a deal... is it?" The boy looked fearful, his hands clutching at the cloth of the obentos

"But Sawada-kun, these boxes are delicious! It really makes me curious about the person who made it. It's made with so much care, it lifts up my mood everyday" The bubbly girl chirped in

"It's also delivered extremely secretly. SUCH EXTREME THINGS SHOULDN'T BE IGNORED!" The boxer roared out enthusiastically

"SAWADA, YOU'VE ALSO BEEN DELIVERING THE BOX TO HIBARI, RIGHT?"

"How do you know that? I thought I did things secretly enough"

"The whole school knows, Sawada-kun. It's that Hibari-san ,we're talking about after all. It was very mysterious that he was eating the same type of obentos as we were receiving"

"The same type? You mean ,a connection could be made?"

"Well they were only of different colors. Other than that, other than us, Hibari and Yamamoto, no one else got a mystery obento. Those five stand out a lot Sawada. You chose your targets wrong"

"Ah... so it was that easy... I swear I didn't mean anything bad about it-"

"Obviously, since you never left a clue to who you were for five years, despite giving the lunch boxes to the most popular people in the campus. There was no gain you could've gotten by doing this. Other than the fact that you could have been a pervert"

"A pervert?!"

The revelation had made the brunette feel more gloomy

"...I understand ,I will stop creating more problems for you guys. I'm truly sorry... It wasn't my intention-"

"Sawada-kun? We're not telling that it was a problem .We just wanted to get to know the person who made the bentos"

"Huh?"

"Could we be friends? We could exchange a lot of recipes"

"OR TRY MORE EXTREME HIDE AND SEEKS! I WANT TO SEE YOUR NINJA SKILLS. WE CAN TEST OUR EXTREME FIGHTING SKILLS"

The brunette seemed baffled. He had tried so hard to get people to like him enough to be friends, but it had all failed. Now , a golden opportunity had been offered to him. In fact it seemed too good to be true, that it was as if he was dreaming

In fact ,it could just be a dream! So he should hurry up and accept the offer or else he might wake up. But his lips didn't seem to want to make a sound. He became a bit more desperate. He just had to accept. He would have people he could talk to ,people he could protect, people he could form a bond with. If he didn't say a thing, that lonely house would be the only thing which he could go back to. In that darkness and gloom, he'd have to spend all his life with no one and nothing else

But... did he have the right to do that? It was because of him that his parents died... what if he would kill them also unknowingly? They had people who cared about them deeply. They weren't a friendless loser like him... No one would care if Sawada Tsunayoshi died. Would it be really fine? Is it OK? Is it OK for him to be ...happy?

"Sawada, it's too late. You're already our friend"

Kurokawa's words snapped him back to reality and brought into focus three individuals who seemed to have used all the luck he had in his life. Chocking up, he felt his facial muscles stretch to lengths it had never ever reached before. What was this feeling?

* * *

Classes had ended and lunch break had started. The brunette had been dragged outside for lunch with the people who peeked on his daily morning work

Feeling rather overwhelmed by the trio's kindness, he straightened his back and spoke rather formally

"My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. Please take care of me"

"Sawada-kun, we know your name properly. The teacher called it out during roll call. I'm sorry I didn't pay attention to it until today"

"No, it's no problem"

"MY NAME IS SASAGAWA RYOHEI .IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU"

"Ryohei... This guy has been basically stalking us. It's kind of obvious that he'd know our names at least"

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to violate your privacy like that"

"Well at the beginning it was really creepy"

"But Sawada-kun's cooking won our hearts, isn't that right, Hana-chan?"

"Well, they do say the way to a man's heart is through cooking"

"IT WAS THE EXTREME NINJA-ESQUE WAY OF PUTTING THE LUNCH BOX WHERE-EVER I WENT THAT INTERESTED ME"

"Wherever...?"

"I thought that Sasagawa-san wouldn't know that it was for him until it was put around his sight"

"... How did you do that?" By this time it became a grotesque sort of curiosity ,as the three were curious as to how the bento seemed to be wherever the boxer went

"At first it was me following him around and placing them secretly at those locations. Then later, a boy with red hair told that it was rather unbearable to see me chase him around to deliver a bento box, so he gave me a robot which would track him down and place the box"

"A red haired kid?"

"He was one of the people who seemed to be getting into trouble a lot. His robots are amazing, though people seem to want it. So he puts a lot of requests to get them back. He's also kind of like me"

"You mean a bully victim?"

"Sawada-kun used to get bullied?! That's awful!"

"SAWADA! TELL ME WHEN THEY DO THAT NEXT TIME! I'LL EXTREMELY TAKE CARE OF THEM FOR YOU"

"...You guys need a lot of awareness... Sawada, what do you mean by requests?"

"Well after I've been trying to help people out by signing as Vigilante, there have been a bunch of requests. It uses all the free time I have, but it feels very satisfying"

then he was subjected to many stares. It lead to a very brief time of confusion with the lad as he had been conversing normally with them so far. It also immediately brought the realization that he had been singing like a parrot

"I-it was just a phase! I just saw his requests and tried to go there to see who it was! Vigilante is pretty famous in Namimori after all!"

"Sawada, no one knew about where the requests the Vigilante had been getting. It's famous for being found by that being only. Also, you aren't used to lying"

"... Isn't it disappointing that it was me who played as the Vigilante?"

"SAWADA, I KNEW YOU WERE EXTREME!"

"Eh?"

"Sawada-kun, that's amazing! You're like a superman!"

"Is this why you lose grades? Because you're busy babysitting Nanimori?"

"I'm pretty hopeless at studying, so I thought, I'd use that time organizing tasks and helping other people"

"You're just giving up-"

"SAWADA! I LIKE THIS IDEA! LET'S TEAM UP AND FORM A REAL VIGILANTE!"

"Sawada-kun, you should try bigger stuff like solving crimes! We'll help! Let's form an official club for helping people out"

"Huh? It was all for my satisfaction... it wasn't like I did it for the greater good. Really, you're making me greater than I actually am. Hey, are you guys listening?"

"Give it up, Sawada. They're going to drag us along with them"

"Hey, I don't do troublesome things! Please! Kurokawa-chan, please say something to them"

"Sawada, there are wars you have to lose too"

"Kurokawa-chan!"

Thus ,a club application was sent. The club gained great fame as it was known to the public that Vigelante was finally going public. Within, three days the club was established

And Within three days, a conflict arose between the team members

* * *

Hibari took over the club

Standing majestically, he spoke regally

"Namimori is mine and anything that has to do with the town is also mine"

"Hibari, that isn't fair. It was Sawada who was the original Vigilante" Ryohei had argued a valid point

"Sawada didn't obstruct the laws of Namimori, so he was left unattended. That is all"

"You're taking credit for something you didn't do" The only one who dared argue with Hibari Kyoya was the boxer. Kyoko was trying to get Tsuna to enter the room while Hana had abandoned ship

"The one who has control over Nanimori is me only"

While the epic debate on the control of Nanimori was going on, Hana had brought over some case files and had been telling him about the paperwork to be signed

Tsuna's face had been slowly changing colors from a pale white to a snow white

Then an idea had shadowed upon him

"Sasagawa-san, it's fine if Hibari-san is the leader right? He would be the one most familiar with the legal system, so he could easily take care of the necessary paper work and the procedures to under take cases right?"

Hibari gave him a disapproving sneer and turned towards the windows

"I am the justice here. Submit the paperwork to me"

The brunette could only gape at the statement the elusive prefect gave

Hana tapped his shoulder and said

"Tsuna, you shouldn't have even tried that move. It was Hibari who gave me access to the cases. It was his secretary who had given access to the paperwork. It's obviously only you who would take care of the procedures and paperwork"

"CHEER UP TSUNA, WE'VE GOT RECRUITMENT FORMS TO GET MORE EXTREME PEOPLE TO PROTECT THE TOWN! HERE ARE THE PAPERS"

"Good luck on the interviews, Tsuna-kun"

"Oh right, Hibari's main lackey, Kusakabe told me that from tomorrow morning you'd have to spar with the dc members. Hibari doesn't want a weak representative. He also said that when we're done with these cases, we'll have to take the cases which he sends along with five we select. There's a time limit too"

"Tsuna-kun, I will gather information by rumors and conversations, Hana-chan will gather the hidden statements .My big brother will do the physical work"

"LEAVE IT TO ME, SAWADA! I'LL TAKE CARE OF THOSE GUYS"

Tsuna felt that he was seeing the hidden sides to his new friends. It was a rather weird seeing people who have expectations on him

"Sawada ,you're good at deducing things right? So piece the puzzles together. We'll help you out"

He had gotten himself a team, with people who could understand him and people who would trust him

His eyes burned with determination after a long time. He had gotten a purpose again in his life. He would cherish these people

When the tasks had been assigned and it was the time for farewell

"Tsuna-kun!"

He turned around to face the brunette

"Next time we meet, call us by our first names"

"It's also one of your tasks, Sawada"

"TSUNA! SAME TIME TOMORROW AT THE CLUB ROOM"

**CHAPTER 6**

**A WISH TO HELP SOMEONE**

Sometimes Tsuna wondered... about what would happen if he had just given up on helping people. He felt that his intentions were always to help others, though more than often it ended in harming them

Because of his goodwill, his father had died in the shadows, tainted in darkness .It was because he had wanted to protect his father's will to protect his family

Because of his goodwill, his mother decided to suicide just because he decided to keep her in the dark, in the illusion that her family was perfect and her life was smooth sailing

Because of his goodwill, he had got his friends involved in the bloodshed and never-ending battle for justice, battle for the justice of those oppressed by ones too powerful... like the very famiglia that took his father away and broke his mother- the Vongola

Because of his goodwill, he had created an immortal beings, left her alone after going into a coma and forced her indirectly to live a life in hiding. Then he had took away that immortality and gave her a chance to live a fulfilling life with the one she'd loved... only to see her die ten years later, leaving her loved ones in tears, and that was his daughter

Then he despaired seeing all the successors started living short lives

20-30 years life expectancy was not good, not good at all

He had pulled himself into research, trying to save her children, not getting a single cure on how to save them. There was a huge guilt on seeing the _'happy'_ family

"I'm your grandpa" he couldn't say that, much less utter a sound. There was always a choking feeling and a perpetual lump in his throat as his eyes seared on the sight of the happy child running around town

As he immersed himself into his research, he found himself getting stressed and even more spaced out. There was no clue he could understand from the pacifiers- they simply glowed when he injected his flames in it. His intuition hit at something when he tried that, but he couldn't put his finger at exactly what it was hinting at. He tried countless experiments with it, feeling like a mad scientist but he was desperate. He tried finding books related to pacifiers only to laugh bitterly at the fact that he was the only one with knowledge about the pacifiers. It only made sense after all, since he was the only immortal whose entire lifespan matched that of Earth when she became a mother.

The times he had gone out and traveled hoping for new information, he realized that the world was getting more and more diseased, people dying faster. He began travelling and trying to cure people, seeing if could save at least one family, seeing as the ones who'd became a part of his family, his life disappeared from his sight

He had tried analyzing a patient-a small frail child bedridden with his mother staring at him with a desperate stare. The woman had prostrated herself to him a week ago, begging him to save her only son, while crying that she had no-one left as the wretched illness had claimed her husband ,now aiming for her child

The bond of mother and child touched him, even though he felt a twinge of bitterness about what happened with his own mother

Pulse weak ,breathing shallow, thin limbs, poor functioning organs, blood pressure low- there was everything wrong, but what was the cause? Why did this happen?

Digging deeper, he hoped he didn't have to do this, but he turned around and looked at the parent... trying to break down the news

He didn't know what triggered him to try again, but it was most likely her eyes, which had a fierce hope. Even though the woman was in brink of breaking down, it seemed like the hope brought her a ...dying will- a determination which seemed to make her look very healthy, though it was like a cornered mouse putting up one last fight

'It can't be!-'

He swiveled around so fast, he felt his neck twinging in complaint

Trusting his intuition, he touched the boy's heart and tried to feel something... and as he suspected, the aura which enveloped himself and his daughter was present- though faint, very faint. and it seemed to be kindling out by the minute in the child's body

Concentrating his mind and fingers crossed, hoping that it would work, he tried injecting his flame- pure orange, which came natural to him, his eyes glowing gold

Color returned to the boy, as his vital conditions seemed stable

"Your child seems fine now , though I'd like to observe him for any drastic changes, to see if he's really fine. Is that okay?"

The woman nodded her head and thanked him vigorously. But Tsuna didn't have the time to bask in the small happiness that came along with the smile beaming on her face, because of a theory his mind proposed. Something which got the gears spinning

* * *

That night, he opened a rather dusty box, he thought he would never open, the box which held the pacifiers. It still emitted light when he inspected it closely, but it was dimmed compared to the times it glowed when his daughter had the pacifier circling her neck

'We two were the first living beings in the world, as far as I have known... isn't the pacifier also glowing with that aura? isn't it responsible for the sickness of the humans?'

He held his hand and tried transmitting his energy to the pacifier. The tiny devices seemed to try absorb everything out of him, and he fell back seeing spots of black- finally blacking out. It was hungry for the energy of seven string people. So eat, it would- maybe even devour

He came back to consciousness after two days and he saw the pacifiers glowing brightly and wondered whether he had made any difference. For a month, he kept trying to keep them bright, while checking out the impact made in humanity. The news reported about the strange illness being cured suddenly, baffling scientist and doctors everywhere .People around town gossiped happily, and more people began to appear on the streets. His own town looked less like a ghost town. But as consequence-He felt human, for the first time in a long while. And he didn't know whether that was a good thing or not. He had linked his overwhelming energy to the pacifiers to stabilize them. But the sacrifice was his life. Immortal or not, he was still human

'Since when did I start referencing the people around me as _humans_?' he wondered sadly as he felt the enormous energy which surrounded him to reduce to the same amount as his previous life

It sapped his energy ...but it kept him a bit happier

'Heh, it's the happiest I've been... though it's tiring' he thought to himself as he felt the sluggish and vulnerable- _sick_\- that was something he wasn't for this entire lifespan

The strange illness uplifted... though casualties remained... because the one life couldn't sustain the flames needed for the 7 pacifiers

The people rejoiced, but the brunette remained in the basement pondering in the revelation of lives being subjected to the selfish decision he wanted to make

Tracing his fingers around the round surface of the pacifier, he couldn't bring himself to make the crucial decision

**Hand over the pacifiers to people who could sustain it ,if they existed**

**Or manage the seven ,leaving casualties, which would increase as the population increases**

The first option was clearly the answer, but his intuition warned him, that it would lead to chaos and deaths

His mind replayed the life of his daughter

'What if... the pacifiers I give to powerful humans make them _immortal_... or worse change their body, giving them short lives... like my daughter'

He remembered about the short lives of those continuing the bloodline. It was a curse... Everything that involved the rainbow colored pacifiers was a curse. It could be him being being biased, but his whole life had changed because of that rainbow. It brought him suffering, paranoia, worry and anxiousness... and they never made him a bit happy. There was no use for the power, if people were scared and distrusting of him. It also killed the people who care, either because they were subjected to attack or because his lifespan was much much longer than theirs. The consequences of his decision could affect humanity, his instincts shouted over and over again

'I can't take that risk... I've lost enough people because of my decisions'

His eyes,gold with resolution made a decision

'I've lived far too long, if this is how I die, it will be fine. The burden of immortality is far too heavy for the people around me. They'll suffer because of the devices'

His fists clenched as he worried about what would happen after he died

'Why... is this world so dependent on these pacifiers... there should be alternatives... if there's none...

_I'll just have to make one_

It's my responsibility after all'

He started a journey that day, to cure the people who didn't get cured because of his flawed choice

**Days passed... months passed... years passed**

Three centuries of roaming around and he found a glimmer of hope in the worst possible situation

* * *

That hope was found in a young noble, whose eyes held wrath as he stood amidst corpses. It seemed to be at least a hundred. How a human got that much power, he didn't want to know. Why was he allowed that much power, he didn't want to know even more

'Curse my damned curiosity ' the brunette thought to himself

Every generation there seemed to be a group of seven people rumored, gossiped around, who were said to have tremendous power. It left him paranoid and made him avoid any sort of contact with them. He avoided them like the plague for three centuries, but he had met one this time out of special circumstances

'Why did I even try to investigate on it. I didn't want any sort of sacrifice for the wielders of the device anyway. I thought of it from the start'

It was as if fates wheels were moving. He had heard of a powerful individual who was trying to prosecute justice among the more... shady areas of the world... which happened to be Italia

On his hand held a request letter to the depths of the country- to heal a loved one

'I should have refused it like always'

The letter was dripped with tears and the recipient had sent countless others, hoping for a positive reply. They seemed desperate, and he was the only one who could cure him/her. Though he could only hope that the other was fine even though he had taken far too long to give a yes, because of his cowardice

The man standing before him was short, black haired with black eyes and looked a bit unusual

Black eyes turned around, facing his auburn ones

'Why couldn't I just refuse it?!' he looked, woefully at the black eyes, feeling sympathy after noticing how distrustful and betrayed the other looked. The other looked like they had lost everything in the world, and he found himself sympathizing with the other because of his own personal situation

"Are you one of them? State your business here" the short statured man said

"You are Bermuda Von Veckenstein..." He said, knowing his intuition never went wrong. Rumors of his power spread far and wide. If you're known in Italia in this world, you are powerful- and this fact was true because the mafia tried recruiting people over the dark side, adding to the fact that there were very charismatic leaders. It made him cringe thinking that the very cause he's been fighting against were slipping right under his nose and he couldn't do ANYTHING about it, else risk being an enemy to humanity once again... simply because they wouldn't consider him one of them

"Answer the question" The other said, looking more suspicious .It brought Tsuna out of his daze and he spluttered

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm a passing by doctor. My client's living around here according to this letter. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi" he said, bring his letter out, a tinge of red covering his face

'I'm making blunders after not staying in contact with humanity'

The man came closer and took the offered letter, reading it while occasionally glancing at the other

"You won't be needing to go there anymore. The owner of the letter died, along with the patient" he said while his eyes showed silent accusal at him

"What had happened to them?" the brunette asked, a silent dread building up inside him

"They were killed by the people laying before you. I am the only survivor... If only you had come sooner... at least I would have the opportunity to see my little brother alive, even for a few days. Alive and healthy"

"...You mean to say that he couldn't be saved? Even though, you are this powerful?"

"It was a well planned ambush. I wouldn't have gotten a clue. Pity that only you could save her. You didn't even try to share the cure secrets. Were you that greedy... desperate for money?!"

He knew he wasn't supposed to do this, but the chance of saving more people because of his choice was too tempting

"Do you know other people as strong as you?" hope crept from his voice

"Are you listening to me?" the raven haired male replied, furious

"I am. If you think my question was insensitive, I'm sorry. But it was needed. Would you like to know the reason?"

Maybe it was the desperate tone the brunette had used, but it convinced the noble to calm down and give the other a chance

"Tell me. I am listening"

"It would be better to see it to understand-"

"I get it. I'm curious as to know what excuse you have cooked up. But be warned. If it's a waste of time. I will kill you. It's only fair, seeing your selfishness"

* * *

The brunette felt a bit happy despite the occasion, as he had a companion, never-mind said companion aimed all his killing intent at the other. He had booked a ship to another client that requested him, hoping that this endeavor would be rewarded. Hoping that his death wouldn't lead to the entire extinction of humanity. He didn't doubt their ability to adapt, to evolve- though to get his level of power... seemed rather unlikely

In the house of your other patient, he told the client that the other was his trainee assistant and ushered the other inside. Even though, he could feel the hostility which the other gave our in response to being touched, the brunette carried forward, already used to people suspicious or hating him

He placed his palm on top of the child's-the patient's forehead and channeled his flame , fueling the other to develop and flicker strongly. Though this was what happened on the inside. On the outside, it was an unbelievable sight

The noble had to blink his eyes in disbelief at the glowing palm and the golden eyes of the brunette

"Is it a new ointment? No that can't be. Impossible... Magic...?" Disbelief rang through his voice, but Tsuna confirmed his claims, trying to make his statements as trustworthy as possible

"You could say so. But I consider it a flame. Something which everyone has... but the strange thing is, even you have it... in a larger amount"

"Is it not common? Is that why you said you couldn't share it? Because not everyone can do it?"

"I'm not sure if you can bring it out... but I wanted to hope that you could"

'without using the pacifier'

Tsuna said, looking at the other sadly

"I know six others who have the same level or even more power than I do. Maybe-"

"Let's not go ahead of ourselves, it may not be possible-"

"Nonsense. They're humans like you are. If you are able to use this power, they can do so too"

'human, huh?' he smiled wryly. People around him never considered him human, only as a monster. But he left dangling thoughts aside and continued

"Ordinarily, people have this flame, but can't use it. They need a device to channel it"

"If you know where to get them, why hide that this power exists? People can get cured"

"But at what cost?! Forcibly pulling a power and making it a part of you will make you give a dear price. It may shorten your life!"

"But it will help others from feeling as devastated as I did. Why did you not come, if it was as easy as minutes earlier?!"

"...Because... _It is a curse_"

Bermuda wanted to snap at the idiot beside him, but couldn't seem to get his words out, looking at the despair on the others face. So he tried to compromise, denying any sort of concern he felt towards the brunette

"...Will you teach me, if I don't ask for the medium to channel it "

"I can try. Though, I can't promise that it would work"

* * *

The experiment was the wound of a child who'd fallen down. There were many like that, so Tsuna thought that it wouldn't harm the children

It failed many times. Over and over and over again. Bermuda couldn't conjure any flames, much less heal anyone. He felt like losing hope

The tiny bruises on the legs and arms of the children wouldn't heal. Bermuda's eyes seemed to darken after every attempt, so Tsuna always felt like panicking .He tried explaining in detail about the feelings he got when he invoked the flame, the parts he thought was involved in conjuring it. He brought him along with different patients, hoping he could let the other know how it could be dome. It did exhaust him, but he didn't want the young noble sad because of a skill humans didn't have by default

But the fact that the child never gave up made him very happy, but more worried

"You think I'd give up? You might have gotten this skill after practicing for many years or just magically, but I want to do this, for my own satisfaction. If I can prevent any more sacrifices because of someone's whim" his accusing look directed at him made him flinch, but he carried on

"You're looking so worn out these days. Aren't you pushing yourself?"

"Look who's talking... Mind your own business"

"I'm just worried-"

"I'll be fine. Take a rest, we've got more people who called you up. They need you, so you better not collapse on them"

The child's nightmares increased after every failed attempt, with dark circles being more and more visible. He tried making better food, even though he would burn them all the time and forcibly wake up the insomniac teen to chaos

"Are you trying to kill us?! Why would you cook? I already know you can create charcoal, charcoal and only charcoal"

"That's not true. Lately I can... create salty and ...sweet charcoal?"

"I'm surprised you actually ate that"

"It's not good to waste food"

"So torturing food is better? The people eating this and the food you're creating will cry. Move. I'll make it. How on earth did you survive until now?"

It made the brunette feel very warm, that the teen did acts of kindness, even though he hated him this much

One day, he went closer to the guarded teen and moved his arm towards him. The noble tossed and turned in his sleep, no doubt recalling the moment where he lost his flesh and blood

A warm glow appeared and the crease around his eyebrows reduced

'This is the most I can do for you'

When he turned around, a voice called out to him

"What were you planning?" the other looked menacingly at him

Surprised ,thinking that the other was dreaming in his sleep, he stood there

"Were you trying to brainwash me? Turn me to a zombie or a mind controlled slave?"

"Honestly, how do you even infer that?" the brunette replied exasperated, already used to the distrust the other had on him

The teen blushed as he realized how crazy his ideas seemed

"Well, aren't you creative. I just tried to calm you down. My flames harmonizes with the surrounding. I thought you were having a nightmare"

"Why? I see you dead tired after every person you heal. This is nothing"

The brunette smiled warmly at the other. He had gotten used to the child's presence. So much that the other seemed like a son to him, despite how untrusting and stubborn he was

"I worry about you, that's why"

The blush deepened. A few moments later, he got an idea. Dashing to the kitchen, he brought a knife an cut his hand, not too deeply

"What are you doing?!" the brunette panicked. Not paying any attention, the noble narrowed his eyes and concentrated on his palm. The wound closed up and healed neatly. Facing the baffled brunette ,he coolly answered

"The flame you hold is like a manifestation of your will, when you are dying. You said that you knew that I had them at the time of the genocide of my family. I was prepared to take my revenge on them, even if it meant that I'd die. That was the conviction I had"

Relief flooded over Tsuna as he realized that things wouldn't go bad even if he died

"I'm going to leave"

"W-what?! Why?!"

"I'm going to find other people who have the same ability as I do. That way, we can help more people take care of diseases like these"

Saying that, the other turned away, leaving the brunette feel lonely

Stopping at the door, the noble muttered

"Thanks for everything, Tsuna"

The brunette snapped his head the direction of the shut door, with a smile blooming in his face

'That's the first time he'd ever called me by my name'

**CHAPTER 7**

**BONDS BREAKING AND FORMING**

News travelled to Tsuna about the team of doctors who could cure the mysterious disease. People rarely asked him to cure them because of the efficiency of the team. Though Bermuda had given the location of the HQ, he had forbidden any sort of visit

"We work there seriously regarding injection of flames in others. Currently, we're working on a easier way to make its injection more portable and fast-like a medicine. The whole atmosphere of seriousness will be ruined if you come there. Not to mention, we're not allowed to bring our family there as a policy. We're being targeted by the mafia, because of the other ways of using it. But they're being taken care of, easily. Because we know how to use them dangerously as well. So you don't have to worry"

He still worried about them, but there was one thing which could affect the people around him if he died

His eyes narrowed at the box he'd been feeding energy in

'There must be a way to supply energy to it without consuming so much energy. Or else, no matter how many doctors are there... it'd be pointless because that won't be enough '

Getting up, he decided to start a search for a way to get a safer way to store the flames

He tried pyramids, storage devices like vases, jars, cups. But none seemed to be able to hold them. He tried experiments like checking whether the flow of electricity could affect the flames inside him. It was uncomfortable, and it hurt a lot, but he didn't die... neither did it affect the flames inside him. They couldn't be converted to other forms of energy. Burning, Injecting fluids ,medicine, drugs, steroids, Nutrient consumption, Impaling(you could tell he was getting desperate) didn't work

The wounds healed easily, but a conclusion couldn't be made as the flames dissipated easily and didn't seem to get affected by anything other than flames. It was understandable as it was proved by his son-like figure to be something more... spiritual. So he had tried understanding asceticism... Which ended up in him being baffled and slightly traumatized at the great lengths

'Humans... are great... I can't imagine going naked in a cold freezing pool with my leg near my... forget it, I'll turn into a cherry tree if I every try that. Then Reborn's prediction will come true. I'll be a cherry boy for eternity' and shuddered ,planning to forget the entire experience

Then he decided to go back to Italia, the place which seemed to house powers lately. He could find a skilled craftsman over there. Weapons were in high demand in the country after all. Maybe he could get a much safer version of the pacifier. Though it seemed that it could create a horrible mess... but his intuition wasn't ringing any bells... so it should be fine, right? The device can prevent leakage of flames, so the pacifiers won't have to supply it for the entire populace and no mediums would be required. The possibility seemed... risky

When he stepped into the place's harbor after boarding a ship, suddenly guards had popped up ,grabbing him from both sides and dragging him. The weather was calm and bright, not very ideal for a kidnapping agenda. It wasn't like he was rich either, the money he earned went to travel ,research and medical purposes. He didn't have a value of the doctor who could heal the strange sickness, now that Bermuda's organization was present

Not wanting to hurt them, he decided to go along with it, to see the reason why he was being handled roughly

* * *

"Sorry for being so rough with you ,but, if I didn't do this ,you'd never come here. Honestly, how guilty can someone feel. It wasn't even your fault!" a woman's soothing voice addressed him when he was placed in an unknown location. The blinds around him were removed and his binds were cut.

'These guys probably don't want me to know their location'

He tried adjusting to the sudden brightness, while nursing the bruises formed by the ropes. It was a long journey to here. Looking at the voice ,he felt eyes ,black hair, white robes, a smile full of acceptance and kindness. It was like his own daughter. He felt like choking up when memories passed through his head

"Tsuna, our family goes by the name Giglio Nero right now. I'm the boss of the family. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and I'll clarify all of them, provided you stay. "

"Ok... The guards and the way 'til here and the treatment I've got... Does that mean that you guys are...? Of course not ,right?"

"Ding ding, you're on the right track. Our family is... yes, you've guessed is a Mafia family, now~"

Tsuna felt his eyes go wide. Wide with fear on the circumstances that led his daughters children to this path. Justice coursed through him on the lives and works of the famiglia he had the pleasure of meeting

"Don't look so worried, I'm sure our ancestor Sepira didn't tell you, but she married a mafia boss"

"What?! How?! She didn't tell me anything.

Oh wait- I didn't ask her. But people usually say stuff this important- oh ,that's right... She was always so... carefree" he said, falling into a reminiscence

"Ahem- getting back to topic. We have been taken as seers for a long time. We can see the future."

'Ah, is it another side affect because of the transformation. It's my fault... I should have checked more into the consequences of changing an immortal to human...'

"Sorry-"

"Tsuna, it's not your fault. We don't have any regrets to the life we're living. I'm happy, I have a great family and a new life held with me" she said patting her stomach

he looked enamored at the bulge in her stomach, smiling warmly, he said

"Congratulations, I'm sure your child will lead a happy life"

She smiled softly and continued

"This generation will have a lot of changes, it might not be good... but, try to float grandpa. Don't regret your decisions. I called you here because it was the last and maybe only chance of seeing you ever again"

"I probably told you a lot of things in the future... but I'd like it if you don't say anything to your children. They're sad things, and it'd be better if you look forward. In the meanwhile, I'll look for a cure."

"But-"

"Please. You're very much like my daughter. I hold her very dear. Let me help"

"...Ok... but in exchange-"

The men who'd been restraining him, brought a suitcase to her. His eyes grew frantic as he saw how familiar it looked

"Wait! You've seen the future. You know what that pacifier signifies-"

"I know. That's why I chose it. We've done some research on our side. This will increase our life span"

"You're lying!"

She smiled the very same smile at him, and this time he felt like the ground supporting him had fallen off of him

"This is our family's duty. I'm not a true human like you, but Sepira would have also wanted to support you. It's also my wish"

He fell in a daze, as she skipped the topics refusing to let him try convince her

He felt like he woke up from a nightmare just to see it continues, when the hotel, the Giglio Nero family's guards escorted him to had the same suitcase with ,six pacifiers now staring at him

Tears dripped down his face as he felt that he couldn't do a thing to help his precious daughter again

* * *

When he woke up, he decided to roam around Italy to clear his mind. He couldn't bring himself to force his daughter's children to change their decision... but luckily, they didn't tell him to stop searching for a cure. They didn't lose hope. Thank goodness for that

He started strolling through the beautiful city, seeing the art on the architecture and tradition built around the place. Too bad that the mafia ruled over every corner. His intuition hinted that something would happen if he moved towards the deeper end, the darker side of the city. Deep inside, there was a ruckus on the side of a street which got him moving towards it to investigate what was going on

There was a young man with what seemed to be a modern day motorcycle in his past life, which was strange because technology needed to develop for generations to come for it to be introduced. Crowds gathered ,curiosity overcoming their purposes to look at the strange contraption. People whispered and gossiped, circling around the inventor and his invention. Tsuna came closer to check who he was

"It's not going to move. There's no horses to pull it" A man near his side spoke up

The youth lazily looked at the other and claimed that it was possible like it was the norm in the world. Dressed in rags while wearing goggles, he seemed more interested in his device rather than the stares others gave him

Tsuna looked suspiciously at the other thinking that he looked very familiar to the man he knew in his past life. Then realization hit

It was Talbot

The queer man who loved challenges in creations

_A black haired man with a black hat ribboned with gold, stared at him. To an outsider, he seemed to be hostile. But the brunette knew, that he was the most trustworthy person he'd ever see._

_Reborn, the one tutor who'd beaten him into the man he is. And the person he'd introduce to him were always strange. And this was no exception_

_"Sorry for being late, Mary was very lonely, so I wanted to spend time with her"_

_Tsuna turned red at that. Reborn smacked him_

_"Dame Tsuna, get your head out of the gutter. Mary's his sheep"_

_"Sheep?! Why do you have sheep?!"_

_"I've not sleeping properly nowadays. Been forgetting the time on the clock. And Mary loves jumping over things. So I've trained her to jump over me when the clock strikes 12. Besides, Mary is adorable"_

_"You mean... she knocks you out for you to sleep...?"_

_"isn't that obvious" Tsuna had to look baffled at the raven haired male who looked irritated at the fact that such an obvious conclusion couldn't be made_

_Tsuna wondered if he was insane or the people around him were_

_"So, young Tsunayoshi, I've heard that you made the famous Vigelante group. I've though of making arrangements to the ring you've kept as a symbol. It'll morph to weapons of your choice. And best of all. People won't think all of you are engaged to each other"_

_"What?! People think that?!"_

* * *

Moving forward, he ignored the gaping mouths at the fact that- yes, the motorcycle moved without anything pulling it physically

"Sorry if I'm disturbing you, I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, and if you don't mind could you grant a request for me?"

"You want a bike after seeing this? it's not tested. Could explode. I just made it for my curiosity "

"I'm sure it won't. You're very skilled for a craftsman, after all. Most probably you're the best of the best" and he meant it. The Talbot who he knew had helped him immensely. He hoped that the other could help in this life too

"You seem very sure about that... like as if you know me very well... But that doesn't matter. What do you want me to create?

... but it's better if we talk inside" he said looking at the commotion caused by the crowd at the bike. The brunette followed him into something he could definitely call a lair. It was filled with gadgets which sparkled inside what seemed to be a test device. The room itself was dark and messy like the owner. The man didn't seem bothered by the astonishment of the older male. And brought two cardboard boxes for a substitute for a seat. When the brunette moved forward

"Careful-" A bear trap sprung forward, making the older sweat bullets

'That's carnage I don't want to be subjected to'

"Oh good, you dodged it. They're traps"

"Wait, what if you killed me!? More like who was it meant for?!"

"Intruders. Don't get too tensed up, you're in one piece aren't you, ahahaha"

"Where's your sheep?" he asked in reflex ,remember about their past lives encounters

"... Sheep? That's a good idea. I can sleep better then"

To which Tsuna could only look horrified

'I became the catalyst?! The place is going to be surrounded by sheep with robotics arms and what not'

Once they went inside, the brunette turned around and asked him

"Could you build a device, a ring to store flames, a large amount preferably"

Talbot looked at him like he was crazy, and sighed

"That bike wasn't made out of magic. It used science. There is no way to generate flames as well as store it in a device. At least within my life"

Tsuna, huffed, expecting the reaction, he moved his hands into the view of the craftsman

"What's going to happen now,will stay within us, ok?" not waiting for a confirmation, he willed his sky flames, as they popped up on his palms

The craftsman dashed forward, inspecting his hand, moving his hand by reflex when touching the flame then getting confused after seeing that it didn't hurt him

"The flame won't hurt as long as I wish for it to harmonize. It's the sky flame"

The flame was aimed at Talbot, as it covered him ,making him feel a sense of calm.

"There are actually other types of flames. The flames which I've shown you comes naturally to me, but I can summon others."

He showed the rain flame which made the other sleepy

He took a nearby board and lit it the storm flame, incinerating it

He formed a shield around him with the lightning flame

He replicated another nearby board, by using cloud flames

He conjured illusions using the mist flame

He healed the craftsman of his fatigue using sun flames

Throughout the demonstration, Talbot remained quiet, wheels turning very fast in his head

Then he quietly said

"How many people know the existence of this flame?"

"36 right now, 37 including me. But they can't use all the flames."

"...This harmonizing flame you've said in the beginning is the rarest one, isn't it. You mean like harmonizing the weather right? It's for the leader of the weather"

"I think so"

"The fact that you're saying that you want to make a device to control it... is it because the organisation wants to use it to control others" he bluntly tried to confirm his suspicion

"... I guess you will need to know the truth. I am what you call, a true human, I've existed from the beginning of the world's creation. I wanted you to create one, because I am desperate"

He showed the pacifiers and allowed the craftsman to be the first human to touch it ,praying that he would be fine

"These currently maintain the world peace to same extent. It gave me and my daughter immortality. But as it took it away from her, her whole family received the consequence. They won't live more than 30... for now. I can't afford to create another one from these accursed devices. So could you lend me your strength in creating something much safer? People of the world need a container or a way to hold their flames in or channel it properly. I could be wrong... but I want to see if this will help them"

Seeing the other's silence, he spoke again

"Sorry, you must be thinking I'm crazy. I know this is hard to keep up with, but it's all the truth-"

"Kid, you should stop blaming yourself. Even your daughter says so"

"Ah, she always did say that- Wait, how'd you know?"

"Hmm? She's speaking normally to me. See?" he said pointing to the orange pacifier

"Wait! You can hear my daughter-"

"Your deal is interesting, so I'll make it. Leave the pacifiers here. I'll check them out" The man eagerly started to work, immersing himself with a rather interesting experiment

And left Tsuna with nothing to do for ten years but ponder if it would result

* * *

Ten years later, an incident happened

Tsuna was rushing to the head quarters of the team Bermuda had owned. Words which he had told him echoed, but he couldn't bring himself to listen to the child. Silently apologizing ,he rushed to the large building, which seemed as tall as a sky scraper. It showed the link between Talbot and Bermuda. It made him grit his teeth at the ignorance he'd allow himself to be subjected to. This could lead him to commit another fatal mistake

_"Pacifiers? I thought you knew. I've passed them to your son-like figure Bermuda after giving the same explanation you've given. Lessening your burden, I'd say" Talbot said_

Slamming open the door, the smell of copper surrounded the place. The aftermath built from a tower of goodwill could be very deadly... He had learned that the hard way, many many times

"Bermuda!"

There was no response

'Have I lost something dear to me over again?! Please, no. Never again' Getting more frantic, and adrenaline rushing up through his body in fear of the inevitable, he rushed around the quarters

He climbed to the top most tower after running around the floors hoping for any one living. The smell of blood tearing him up. Corpses laid in every room, every floor. Possibilities ran around his mind and none were any good. His eyes darkened after looking through each room and floor

"Somebody ,anybody... talk, move, breathe" Survival mattered the most. But why was this outcome the only one possible? The brunette continued cursing his intuition which shot down any optimistic or fairly optimistic end result. He blocked any answer it tried to tell him, unable to accept the truth

'What did Sepira say that made Talbot make that decision. Was it because I worried her everytime?'

Opening the last door, he saw a tiny figure on what seemed like Jaguar, Bermuda's loyal right hand man. His instincts telling him who that baby was, but his mind and body refusing to accept it. The hatred seeping out of them was so strong ,that he couldn't help but flinch. What had happened?

"Bermuda...?"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, your intuition is as remarkable as before. And before you say something, yes, Jaguar was dead. These flames which surrounded me cursed me to be in this form. Funny thing is, I got something worse than death, but my comrades all died without even knowing what hit them. They didn't even touch the pacifiers. I did"

"..."

"Talbot told me about the pacifiers and the results of the experiment. You're immortal ,I hear. You're source of power is the pacifier and the world ran on its power. _Heh..._ You had all of us in the palm of your hand. Tell me, _was it fun?_ Were we good _toys?_ Did the number of people who died satisfy you? Did it feel right to make evil that powerful? They have drastic thoughts and I thought it was strange. My comrades have taken care of all the flame users, your favorite toys

_Were you upset?_ So much that you thought it was better if all of us died? Is that why Talbot gave us your precious pacifiers? _Too bad, I survived_"

"..."

"What? Shocked that I didn't die? Like that daughter of yours? You've trapped her entire family into eternal doom, and I was next wasn't I?

No wonder you were very careful with me... But you've failed, because the pacifiers tried to send me to hell after rejecting me, but I clinged to dear life

And lived, with chains imprisoning me" he said dangling the pacifier which was as clear as day

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, you will pay for your crimes. If not today, then surely tomorrow "

then two left the brunette in his stupor

'I am disgusting

to be happy that he lived

when I've led him to a fate worse than immortality

I've destroyed his family, his comrades, his body and mind. I've deformed all those dear to him

But despite the sins I've commited against that lonely boy

...I'm so happy he lived'

And tears dripped onto his floor as he sobbed through the night

**CHAPTER 8**

**THE START OF A NEW BALANCE: TRINISCETTE**

A moth was flying out

He blinked his eyes. This was impossible. He thought it was only possible in movies. A moth flew out of his wallet. The fact that he was so broke that moths were flying out of his wallet wasn't as scary as the question of who or what was providing him food and shelter for survival

Now that he thought of it, he didn't really require that much food to be stored in his refrigerator. He just brought it out today for the guest he'd invited. Said guest was staying at his living room, complaining of hunger. And by the way, said guest was Talbot, and the man was calling up someone ,seemingly ordering food

"They have food ordering services...?"

"Oh, Tsunayoshi. It seemed like I wouldn't be getting food seeing the state of your kitchen. So, I was calling friends"

"Wait how'd do you even know how it looks like?"

"...Anyone would get it hearing vessels crashing down like thunder. I smelled it burning too"

Tsuna blushed, scratching his head. Coughing, he tried getting the conversation back on track

"I don't have any ingredients here ,right now. I can't get any without taking another job- "

"Hmm? But these guys restock your fridge everytime"

"What?!"

"You didn't know? I guess that's because you're basically a shut in. Anyway, they're from the Giglio Nero family. The boss was worried that you weren't eating properly. They've been doing this for generations. What, you think food magically appears from no-where?"

"...I'm mostly travelling so I usually order food"

"You're lucky, your patients and associates pay for your travel and stay. I guess it's because you have more access to information because of the way you search for pacifier clues. When you come back, the family, stocks up your fridge "

"... What, they control the transport facilities? Ahahaha... my daughter's children are angels... they wouldn't do that-"

"They're Mafia"

"..."

"So, Tsunayoshi. The data you've given for the pacifier are most interesting. It's like they form the very thread of anything in physical form. It's a very interesting project"

"What are you getting at, Talbot"

"I want you to lend them to me once again, for final touches. I've gotten on to something. They're in their prototype stage"

"Are they safe?"

"I don't know, I've not worked that long with them, at least not as long as you've done. I guess, it's because you've spent that much time, that you're able to provide extra valuable information to them"

'It's more because, Hayato used to teach me about the functionality of the modern day devices. His eyes were gleaming...

I miss him'

"... Do you need my flames too?"

"Yours is the most complex. It's useless because of that. The flames used for us aren't that complex"

"... I see"

"I've borrowed the boss's pacifier"

"What?! How is she?"

"Stable. I'll have to analyze it fast, though. Not sure if it will hurt her or not in the future"

He knew that certain risks would be taken, but he wished he could have the option to select a safer choice

"I'll be going now. Got the pacifiers, my main objective, after all. How about I suggest a new job for a change? It's an orphanage. A friend of mine owns it. He's heard about you from me, go ahead and ask him, if you need one."

"I wonder when did all these things get decided?"

"Ahaha, it's because you're stubborn Tsunayoshi. Take care. We worry about you, after all" and the cheery young man left grabbing the box along with him

True to Talbot's words, big suited men arrived carrying tiny boxes. When the sported the short man, they seemed to panic, whispering amongst themselves. Shuffling together, they scared Tsuna into thinking they were going to takedown him like rugby players. One of them moved forward, faced him with his back straight and

Bent a 90 degrees as spoke clearly

"We're delivery men and are requested to send a parcel to Sawada Tsunayoshi-sama"

"Psst, you've done it right George. Boss said so too right? This is how Japanese people greet each other"

Tsuna didn't know whether to sigh at the misunderstandings his daughter's children had made or laugh at how obvious they've declared themselves

"...Where do I sign?" in the end he decided to play along, seeing how satisfied they were with their job succeeding smoothly

That was one mystery cleared. He didn't like how evil his mind was getting, but he hoped that their stealth skills were better with their _clients_

The brunette decided to accept Talbot's advice on working in an orphanage. It's been a long time since he met any child anyway. The tingling senstion of his intuition lately had been considered bad news to him, but he decided to let it go, for one time

* * *

He should have listened

"OK kids, this is Tsunayoshi-sensei. He'll be taking care you you from this day on, so get along with sensei OK?"

"YES!"

There was only one thing running in his mind

'**Cherry boy Cherry boy Cherry boy Cherry boy Cherry boy Cherry boy Cherry boy Cherry boy Cherry boy Cherry boy** '

It was the joke which Reborn used on him many times in his part life. It was being looped over and over again

Spiky hair, cherubic face, tiny body and same body structure. Why ,it was only the hair and eye color which was slightly different, gold

It was like seeing a carbon copy of himself

'I'm too young- no, scratch that. It's been practically useless and it could have been the worst screw driver ever to exist. I don't even remember a woman being that interested in me. They call me Tsuna-chan. They practically consider me a chick!'

It was a min Tsuna right before him

"Onii-chan, don't worry. You're definitely not my father" a calm voice spoke to him, albeit childish

'What?! Am I _that unpopular_?! That the kid who should probably be screaming _DAD_ says that I couldn't possibly be his dad... though it is true that he isn't my kid...'

"Professor! Onii-chan turned to stone!" the mini-Tsuna called out to the brunette's employee, while Tsuna was busy despairing over the recent events

"Tsunayoshi-kun, this is Giotto. It is a strange condition isn't it? It's like seeing two Giottos, Ohohoho" the man laughed heartily. Tsuna could only give a weak smile in return, still shocked over the entire situation

"Onii-chan? Did you want to be my dad so badly?" Giotto asked, seeing that the man seemed shocked after he had said that

"Eh?"

"Ok! Then I'll help you! You'll be my dad from now onwards"

"Eh?!" the situation took an unexpected turn and Tsuna could only gape widely. After a few moments, he regained himself and was about to try refuse, but seeing the beaming smile of the little boy, he sighed and smiled

'Looks like I have another son now'

Things took a stranger turn from there

Giotto had dragged him towards a tree right after that and shouted out to a hole

'Does he think that the tree speaks to him? Or do they really speak?'

"Oi! G! Wake up already. I got a surprise for you"

Deciding to play along, Tsuna spoke to the tree

"Nice to meet you ,G. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi"

"Yeah, and he's our dad", the child had said it in a as of matter of fact manner

'I have a tree for a child now?!'

"Well, dad, G is my best friend and since you're my dad, you're G's dad as well"

'Is this the common sense of this world now?!'

"...Well, you've heard him G, hope we'll get along now" he said hugging the tree

'Well, I'm fathering a tree this time. This is certainly a change in pace. Talbot's psychic'

"... Giotto, you've picked up a nutcase this time... the guy think's that the tree's his son. Old man, you think people hang out and talk to trees all the time?"

Tsuna turned and looked towards the source of the sound. It was a small pink haired ,pink eyed boy. He looked on the older with a look of amusement

"Name's G. Nice to meet ya too, Pop's"

"Dad, this is G, my best friend"

"...pink?"

"It's red! Get spectacles, old man!"

The boys he had realized after spending time ,had a sense of justice which was borderline dangerous to their health. They helped the people in the town and helped catching purse snatchers who was about five times larger than them

It scared the brunette tremendously, and it seemed that his blood pressure would pop

"Dad, you don't get it. There are times where a man should fight. That guy was hurting other people"

"He had a knife!"

"Old man, we can fight better than you"

"You could have died!"

"You mean that you would run away just because he could hurt you? Even if he would take the money Paula had saved up thorughout her life for helping settle hospital bills?

You could let her bear the life of someone she cared deeply, leaving her with untold regrets which she can't tell them anymore? She'll be all alone and she can't do a thing

Then that guy will just repeat the same thing with other people and no one can stop him. Just because we didn't try to save her. And we'll have a family while she loses hers. And that is just?" his golden intimidating eyes reminded him of himself in his past life

"Besides, if we don't go, you'll step in and you do that, even if you're weak. And you consider that normal" G said annoyed at the recklessness of the brunette

"This town is beautiful and we get the same feeling of wanting to protect it as your own"

It was like seeing himself in his youth. It brought nostalagia and a sense of longing

"Honestly, that sense of justice is something people don't really have. You guys might as well be Vigelantes, if you want to protect the town" he joked, remembering the reason why he wanted to officialize his Vigelante team

"That's a great idea, dad"

"You say some good things too ,huh? Life's full of surprises"

"Eh?"

* * *

Adolescence was a tough time. But Tsuna would say, it was tougher for a parent than the child

"G! Why on earth would you puff on that cancer stick?"

"It keeps me calm"

"You know what it does to you"

"I'd have my blood pressure higher than yours, if you hear the crazy ideas Giotto gets. I've seen your expressions and an electrocuted frog looks calmer than you do"

"You guys were climbing on trees to return stolen goods from bandits. Mind you, those trees were as tall as coconut trees and were as thin. And what about the goods? I heard you tried it the Ali baba* style. I shouldn't have ever read those stories to you. It gives you ideas"

"If we got bruises, it will definitely be less than what you get from cleaning or cooking. Stay away from chores. You're a walking menace"

"Who's lecturing about safety here? "

"Well, we take care of things much more safely than you. You're a great example"

"G! Help!"

"Giotto. Why are your clothes all clustered? Were you trying a Robin Hood this time?" despite saying this ,the brunette hoped it wasn't true. That would create a mess

"Dad, no time to talk. It's code L"

On hearing that G dashed away pulling Giotto by the arm

"Hey G! It hurts"

Tsuna looked at the two run like death was on their heels and sighed at the mention of code L

The older women caretakers were rushing after them

"Tsuna-chan, did you see where that child went. He wouldn't let me bandage him. He's been refusing to be bedridden. That child is always like that. He gets hurt but still he wants to help. We can manage ourselves..." the women couldn't keep their strict charade ,feeling touched at the gestures of the two boys

"They help clean, gather food and set up the table for food, they even get the medical supplies and even help treating the people who get sick or hurt... But they get into fights with people who've tried to steal or do crimes. We were used to it as a regular occurrence... but when those kids came to our life... it's like it's our right to have a peaceful life"

"Don't worry so much Ma'am, they'll be fine"

"I know, but we'll miss them. They'll be graduating from this orphanage... and it's not like they'll never visit... both those boys are special. They're considered special for the townspeople. So we can't hoard such treasure to ourselves"

"I know how you feel. G is rough in showing his kindness. It's a bit hypocritical in how he's acting though. He loses his temper against the people who hurt the ones he considers dear. It gets so violent, that he's acting like basically a delinquent. He's impatient, and won't see through actions if they get on his temper. But, luckily he's mostly calm

Giotto is too trustworthy for his own good. He got duped so many times. It's almost like G is the older brother. But he's got great insight ,so he can understand the motives when things go bad. He's got my intuition after all"

"You're acting just like a parent ,Tsuna-chan. We know you're really proud of your sons. You'll make a great dad"

"For all that praise, isn't Tsuna-chan a bit much?"

"You're still stuck on that? It's only because you're so cute"

* * *

The oh so powerful Mafia was getting repressed. Italy was still subjected to much of crime, though. It was happy news to hear ,though... how it was done was hidden in the shadows. Families that committed treason , and broke the mafia code of honor, the omerta were erased, killed... No ,that was a light way of saying it. They were obliterated

No trace that they even existed remained. But fear was felt

And it tensed Tsuna up

Was it possible?

He mentioned that it was a part of what he did or encouraged

Honestly, he didn't get how did that child think he was powerful. He and Sepira were put up on a stake when humanity weren't even that technologically advanced. He didn't want to remember that incident

Was he taking a part in something that dangerous?

He wanted to search for that child, but he had hidden himself properly. That flame he had gotten- that pure dark flame, it felt so evil... was it truly because he felt desperate... or was it a grudge?

Was it only the reason that he lived?... in that case, he didn't want to check if it was true. It was better if that child would continue despising him. He didn't understand that darkness. He couldn't put his head or tails

Once Talbot was done with those pacifiers, he'll check it up again

Eighth flame... What on earth was it capable of?

"Vendice..." Tsuna muttered, uneasy of the news.

"Stay safe... Bermuda"

There were no rumors other than that. It stayed in the darkness and lived there as if it belonged there

'Surely you don't think you deserve nothing else but darkness ,Bermuda? Did that flame sink you completely into darkness?'

A mysterious organization which considered itself the law and justice of the mafia, Vendice

It brought a bad taste in his mouth that they were doing something he was very passionate about ,in his previous life. And maybe ...just maybe... it was his unconscious decision to want to go back to those times, that forced such a circumstance to occur. He should have heeded his intuitions... Maybe then, this wouldn't have to happened

'What a twisted way to grant my wish. He's suffering and I can't do a thing. Dame Tsuna, definitely fit me. The guys in Namimori were right' he said grabbing the photo they had taken for the recent vanish of the Rico famiglia.

The empty land was switched with that of a hotel. They treated as if the famiglia never existed in the first place

Thinking of members the boss had lost, he felt pity for the loss

'Look at me, sympathizing with Mafia scum. I guess it was better that I couldn't find a way to get back to my previous life'

* * *

Talbot looked at Tsuna who seemed to wallowing in despair at the photograph he brought

'I shouldn't have brought the photograph. I knew that he'd figure it all out and blame himself. I wish he would blame someone else. It was I who told him... At least I can make things right'

"Ah, sorry, Talbot. I got absorbed. Thanks for showing me this. By the way, are you done with checking out the pacifiers?"

"No, give me some more time. It's creating complications"

"It's fine ,take your time. But, it's rare for you to be perplexed"

"Well, it happens"

"... Are you hiding somethings?"

"Hmm? It's nothing interesting"

"You're lying. What happened?"

"...You're intuition is as sharp as before... The Giglio Boss died"

"...What?"

"You heard me. I don't want to repeat it. It brings a bad taste in my mouth"

"B-but she didn't give birth to her child yet"

"The child died long ago. Miscarriage"

"_What?_"

"It died five months ago"

"_I didn't hear anything about this_"

"_Who's succeeding the Giglio Nero family?_"

"They're arguing about whether the family will get dissolved or not"

"_Why did this happen?_"

Talbot looked at the brunette he'd gotten fond of break down, and looked sad

"It's my fault Tsunayoshi"

"Talbot?" the brunette looked like a child who looked so lost. The craftsman didn't like the look at all

"I succeeded in manipulating the pacifiers. It showed the exact reaction I wanted. But as a result..."

"Talbot... did something happen to you?" the brunette sounded scared

"I think I'll be in the same boat as you, Tsunayoshi"

"...you're immortal...?"

"Yes-"

"What happened?! What did you do?!"

"I evened out the power of the pacifier"

"I'm sorry Talbot. I never meant to get you involved-"

"Tsunayoshi... immortality is a small price to pay. I've killed something dear to you. I've brought something horrible to your son. How do you even have the heart to forgive me?"

"Talbot, do you even hear yourself. I know you have thought about it. Immortality is a curse. You lose everything which could be dear to you, because your lifespan is more than the rest of the population.

You will never evolve. People around you will change, while you remain the same. You'll have to live a long life while ideals and notions change.

People will get scared of you. People won't want or can't keep you company. You won't have precious memories because of how old they were

What about if you lose body parts? They'll be gone forever, even if you get replacements, they are never yours

Scars both physical and mental remain

You have no chance of getting peace. There is no end. You'll be living with your sins"

Talbot looked shaken up

"Tsunayoshi... did you live with those feelings?"

"You worry about me too much. I've lived far too long and made far too many mistakes. I've lost a lot of my loved ones

I didn't want my fate on anyone else. I hoped that my decisions wouldn't damage someone's life

But ,I've been giving people a fate worse than death for a long time"

He admitted sadly ,despising himself to make his dear friend feel worse than he felt

"If its any comfort ,I would keep you company through the years. That's the only thing I can offer-"

"Don't you dare apologize. I wanted to do this to help ease the burden of supplying energy to the pacifiers. I won't regret it"

"... Thank you ,Talbot" he smiled warmly at the other

"Now that's more like it. That smile suits you. You'd better keep it as a symbol. Makes people worry less"

"But it's better if you talk to me regarding the decisions you make, the more vital ones. You've been getting hurt because you've been making important decisions by yourself"

"Ha! The pot calls the kettle black"

* * *

In the grass not to far from the country of Italy, a dark green haired baby appeared seemingly out of no where. Her pale skin highlighted her sky blue eyes. Where did it come from? Why was it here? How did it reach here?

Unanswerable questions were asked. But it fit for something which was responsible for the creation of the universe.

One thing was clear: The curse still continues

**CHAPTER 9**

**HIDING FROM AN EVER GROWING SOURCE OF ENEMIES**

There are some things an immortal being really can't get away with. It's what a creature fears the most- to be hunted down

Isn't that a bit ridiculous?

I mean, the creature is immortal, right? Un-killable. Added to the fact that it's an almighty, all-powerful creature... world domination would be a cinch. It's playing life on easy mode, right?

Then why was Sawada Tsunayoshi hiding in a back alley some where in Italy, huffing and panting while clutching his stomach. The brunette kneeled down hoping to catch a breadth. Sweat dripped from his body, keeping it unusually cool

Predator becomes prey? Prey becomes predator?

Something had happened

Tsuna thought through what had he done in the past that got multiple groups chasing after him

Heart racing he thought what could have happened which could have made things go so wrong

Just a while ago, he'd been in his study room reading through various reports. All alone in the huge mansion he'd regretted buying in the first place, he smelled a whiff of something burning. Due to his past, Tsuna did end up hating anything related to fires. Humans were a race that continued evolving.

Giotto lived in the centuries around 17-18. And for an immortal like him where everything was standstill, such development wasn't easy. But for the dominant race, being developed means an easier way of getting rid of obstacles, right?

_And what's more easy than a stagnant prey?_

And honestly speaking, does it really matter if said prey was immortal or not?'

"If it's too powerful, gang up on it. Either way, if it was too powerful it would eventually try to kill you right?

It it was immortal, then remove it's organs and store them somewhere else. Or better ,experiment or even just take the parts and put it in someone else to create... chimeras. After all this being can never be human

Oh, there's something else you can try. Slave it, make it obey you. Rule over it. Rule over the world. Use it to kill all those that oppose you. Those that don't think your way deserve to die anyway

You could restrict it and seal it, if you don't ever want to deal with it

You could use it to relieve your stress. Ever wanted to feel how you'd do against something infinitely more powerful than you? Wouldn't that feel amazing ? You could completely subjugate this creature " a seductive proposal was heard amongst the powerful humans and thus the hunt began

* * *

He heard shuffling of feet nearby and dashed away, feeling some hands grab on to his clothing. He applied some force to push himself away from grabbing hands. A bullet grazed his shoulder and it slowed him down

Tears built up as he realized that no matter how much energy he had built in himself ,he couldn't envision himself using them against his pursuers. Eyes played scenes about what would happen if he tried defending himself

Eyes blinded by greed fading out to darkness as other eyes gleam brighter at prospects of getting a new... toy

It was only one hand reaching out to him right now, but then what would happen?

Hands grabbing his legs, arms, shoulders, neck, hips... pulling him down, gripping him tightly, tackling him, scratching, clawing at him- ripping his clothes ,leaving marks of possesion -_'You're mine. Mine Mine Mine Mine Mine Mine Mine Mine Mine Mine'_. Ropes, wires ,belts ,bandages wrapped around him. His bare skin ripped ,leaving muscle behind... maybe even to the bones. Sweat and screams of delight for attaining him..._**'Mine'**_

Then out of pure fear he'd use more power and rip their hands out , leaving tendons slowly turning loose from their tight tension and adrenaline .Blood will pool around him, making gloves for his arms, possessing him _**'Mine'**_

Then bones would stick out-pure white- like the colors of pure desire

Ambition

Pride

Fear

Grudge

'_**Mine'**_

Envy

Heresy

Worship

Shunned

Primal

Domineering

Oppressed

Obsessive

Pervasive

It made his skin crawl. Those hands tell epics. Oh look, the lag which the hit bullet caused brought another hand at his shoulder. A drop of sweat hit the ground with the same gravity as those hands were pulling him into

'_**Mine'**_

* * *

"It's not really fair is it? There's this one creature that isn't willing to share. And it's protecting a whole lot of treasure, in its little cave. Did you know? There's a mansion in the depths of Greece whose owner is unknown. But there're no records of buyers or sellers. But it was bought by someone and acquired legally. Successors? There would be records then

It almost seems like there was someone immortal living there" a voice so tempting, so manipulating that it seemed like they were the devil's puppets

'I should have shifted' The brunette gulped. His shivering only intensified with the lack of jacket he sacrified to get away from his pursuers. His lips trembled in resonance with his body as his mind fast forwarded to what would happen if he let himself get captured

"_Burn the witch. Rip her limbs are sacrifice them to the lords so she'd never move towards our destruction. They were surely practising black arts. There's no other way they'd get that powerful"_

"_Behead her"_

"_Praise the lord"_

"_Repent witch! With your head in the depths of the sacred chambers of the lord and repent for your sins"_

_Tied on the crucifix, his only daughter was condemned to death_

_It was because, the brunette- her supposed father -had let the people around him do as they wished, perhaps because of an amount of fondness he'd feel for them_

_It's baffling and made him question_

_They looked alike , spoke the same language, made the same expressions , had the same body structure, made similar actions, had similar feelings and were of the same species_

_Then... why were they on a completely different page? Why couldn't they understand each other?_

If they murdered them on the very cross which they respected another one of them on... What would happen to him now?

* * *

"Think about it

Power, wealth, land, reputation. You'd get all of them

You can even restore your loved ones and save your dying ones with the unlimited power stored within the being. You can have the source, and access to such a resource. You could even try to modify its structure, like how it looks and how it behaves and create something which you desire " the path too evil was open for the sinners. Hells paths leading their way to chaos

Eyes glinted with expectations, hope and desire

It brought chills and made him uncertain

There was no escape, no way to move through transport. They were all taken over the powerful once news reached that the brunette reached the city of power, Italia

Ambushed by groups, families, institutions, kingdoms lying in groups everywhere, the brunette was caged from the outside world

The brunette ran along the streets, focusing on gaining distance from his newest predators, his mind added a plus point in what would happen if he raised his hand against the people behind him

He'd lose a place to return ,if he ever had a chance to return back

He'd also have to have a showdown against the person hell-bent on making him the bad guy ...and he's family

His deep thoughts slowed his rationality regarding his running path- It was straight down middle a street

So naturally, there would be something big to pay. Tsuna's vision blacked as he felt something very solid hit him. But his instincts argued that if he went down here, there's no going back

He was then pummeled by bodies of supposing grunts, seeing their attire. They grabbed his collar and punched him and kicked him down. People started gathering and began trampling him. Tsuna's eyes watered as he searched for escape routes. His arms,legs and chest were stepped on. The times were the joints were tracked, he felt them crack under the pressure. Then ,a somewhat wise person in the group spoke up

"Let's just break his legs so he doesn't escape"

Tsuna's eyes widened ,terrified

His mind went in overdrive and he felt a flame concentrated and his will to live flared

He felt his mind becoming clear .Calm ,rational, decisions flowed and he saw the weaknesses in the movements of the grunts. Following the natural movements appearing naturally to him, his body movements flowed- albeit crudely

Limping to another corner, he was desperate for a safe house

* * *

Just then, a hand gestured towards him. He blindly trusted it, throwing caution to the wind in a fit of desperacy.

The pale hand was that of a child. But his instincts called the person dangerous... but ,somehow he felt safe with the person

"It's rather surprising that you'd take my hand in the situation you're in. Although your misery is my enjoyment, a way to alleviate my boredom" Amused eyes peered into terrified amber eyes

The childish voice lightened the situation but its contents were rather eerie, making it on the whole unsettling

When Tsuna's eyes focused on the child, his eyes widened in surprise and slowly morphed into melancholy... at the bittersweet memories of his past

"You recognize me? I guess it's only fair since I've played you into this situation. It's good that you're aware of your assailant. Though I am curious about your informant"

Though shocking words were thrown at him, the brunette was assaulted by an onslaught of memories. Seeing the softened ,expressive eyes of the brunette, the child showed the other a mocking glance

"But it's very rare to see anyone that kind of emotion towards me"

The lovely one-way conversation was unfortunately interrupted, by a clink

Tsuna turned towards the source of noise and saw a figure rather nostalgic, though said figure was cuffing him

"You're arrested for interrupting the peace of this city" was the rather monotonous tone aimed at him.

The frigid voice was aimed at him belonged to a platinum haired ,fairly-tall person having a trench coat and sharp eyes

"...I won't be easily detained. There are people aiming at my life as you've seen"

The bored look aimed at him was very nostalgic

"They're all beaten down. And so will others who oppose the city laws. You're a part of my territory" His eyes held a warning towards him ,showing that what would happen to them would apply to him as well

Lying around the two, people could be seen through the corners of his eyes. They were put down till their knees and further down to their ground .The sea of bodies were a show of power

But that brought a sense of safety to Tsuna, as he tried to hide his smile at the indirect form of kindness from the man arresting him

**Alaude**

**The very replica of the prefect he'd known for ages in his past life**

**CHAPTER 10**

**The Child of Fate**

_Let's rewind by 5 years since the arrest of Tsuna_

There was a child born somewhere in Italia. Now that's not very surprising... There's a child born every second in someplace in the world or even given up. Leaving complex situations aside, the fact is that a child birth in the big picture can't be anything special

It seems a bit irrelevant to be talking about this all of a sudden. There's a question of better interest after all

For the filth which Italia was famous for, there was a child who inherited that bloodlust, disgust and darkness. Midnight blue hair flowed in the dark as a child brought the strongest to their knees. Heterochromatic eyes scanned the room in a condescending manner

A ruby red eye shone in the room bathed in crimson blood which told tales of terror to any sailor willing to sail to see the blood red sea. It was a case which stumped the more righteous of scum- the Mafia. Or were they just searching for the weed?

After all anything potentially harmful is better to be removed

The power struggles among the ranks of the Mafia lead to weapon wars, family wars and drug wars. There was the race to fame and power- the fight to earn themselves a reputation, fame, power and wealth. There was also jealousy as well as differences in morals, priorities and betrayals among groups. Regardless of the reason why they fought, something was needed- **arsenal**

But then there was a **rather scary **policeman -one possessing both wits and strength. He went by the name or was it an alias? Well, no one really knew anything about the quiet man, nor did they have the guts to confirm anything. Anyway, he went by the name Alaude and he was brutal ,which was surprising since he was a youth

The mark of the platinum haired frenchman was etched into the mafia world, rather literally. Scars which told the tale of the valor of survival against the beast told the brothers of the group of the humiliation of a defeat of the boss and the release which allowed the man to breathe the clean air of the world and see the blue skies of the beautiful town

Gashes across eyes ,diagonal from the corners of the head along with stab wounds which were equivalent to a harakiri* which it might as well be seeing the new meek behaviour of the once powerful men who held the world at their hands castrated to pet dogs

It was a period of nightmare when the night business of the lawless towns were done in hush hush

While the policeman strolled the town into the lull of safety ,the new age of power formed its shell, awaiting the time to break into a new stage of hell, things went from bad to worse for the famiglias

* * *

A new force stepped into the underworld- as the vigelante Vongola

"Giotto... I thought you were gonna ask that brat to fund us. I never heard of anything about making him a part of our group. That rich little master probably never knew that robbing exists" G said looking exasparetedly at the boss, still irritated at the spontanity of his decisions. Why does he do important things on impulse?! It makes no sense

"Ha-ah. G was it? Your words are still within earshot. Try badmouthing me when you guys are alone? Don't you know that it's bad manners to speak ill of others ,especially in front of them?" The so-called little master lazily retorted, leaving one eye open for courtesy

"That applies when I give a shit about you are, which I'll spell it out for you- **I don't care if your precious feelings got hurt**"

"Thank you very much for helping me understand idiot speech"

"Princess, you'll have a better chance in insulting me in 100 years. I'm just worried that your nail will get broken in the war. Giotto are you serious in getting him involved? He'll miss his favourite bedtime tea party"

"G... why don't you calm down a bit? Cat fights aren't your style-"

"**Giotto? What do you mean by that?**"

"You guys are making rich people so feminine... I'm so insulted"

"What bullshit are you spouting with those dead fish eyes?!"

"Sorry Lampo. G's words kinda influenced me"

"Seriously...? Hey, I can pull my own weight!"

"Hey we haven't accepted you in yet!"

"G, we offered him the position. It's not an exclusive club anyway"

"Joining? Ah, I remember why I came. Can I refuse that? You guys seem to do bloody things. I don't want to join something that tiresome. It's a drag" was the sudden refusal from the green haired man. There was a difference in reaction in the people in his company. Giotto seemed conflicted from looking disappointed or shocked while G looked like a kid in a candy store

"Giotto look! This is why I told you not to hire that wimp. Now did your eyes clear up?"

"Don't call me a wimp! I told you I can pull my weight around properly! Giotto give me an army. I'll get rid of the Doffie famiglia"

Then it was Giotto's turn to look like a kid in a candy store. G... looked a kid who just realized that he didn't have any cash in the store

Then the limelight for the ruckus to be was pulled from their legs by the rain guardian to be

"What?! So you're going to join us?! Man that's great! I was wondering what was going to happen for a while"

"That's our line Ugetsu. How was the patrol?"

"Don't twist my lines Giotto. Ugetsu, you bastard. What were you doing, eavesdropping or something? You didn't skip the patrol, right?! And don't give me that it is peaceful crap. The situation is tense and you know it!"

"Maah maah. G, calm down. I didn't stay for the entire conversation. I heard the last bits. And it really isn't that bad. I mean a while ago Knuckle KO'd the Doffie famiglia"

"And where is that guy then?"

"He said he'd stay back to bring them back to the righteous path"

"Another lecture? How thick is his skull that it won't get through that those kind of guys can't get these things through"

"What's wrong with giving them a chance G?"

"Yeah, it might work this time. Or it could be the next or maybe the next from that"

"You guys are naive!"

"Eh? You guys defeated the Doffie famiglia?" came the shocked voice of the noble

"You were still there? Can't you get it from the conversation flow? Looks like you lost your prey"

"But even the town guards weren't able to do anything and there was a huge list of their rampage!"

"So you're wimping out again?"

"Hah! Fat chance! That 2 bit villain isn't even worth my air. You better wash your neck and wait for the criminal the great Lampo-sama will bring to justice"

"Why do your words not make no sense in seconds?" asked Giotto shocked at the lad who seemingly chose to be inconsistent

"I don't know why ,but I **definitely **don't want to lose to this guy"

"**I heard that someone doesn't want to lose?!**"said Knuckle who entered the party late

At that time Talbot was working on a way to split the powers of the trinisette and was still mortal

The influence of the Vongola only grew stronger as they gained more allies and made themself an enemy of every mafia family in the world

Then the faithful meeting between Talbot and Vongola occurred from a faithful meeting -so did the crack of the beginning of the new era of the world and the repeat of history or would it be the merging of the 2 worlds?

Daemon Spade was a shrewd man who seemed to have eyes everywhere. He was famous for his information gathering ability and was famous for his manipulative nature. There was a leash hierarchy known too (It was kept under tight lips). He was bound to Elena who was in bound with Vongola- more particularly its ideals

Vongola had gained enough influence to get into the big league especially since the addition of the newly aquired cloud guardian to be- Alaude. It was an unofficial alliance which could be broken down into a series of fortunate coincidences, but was considered as an alliance by the outside world

Their reputation spread far and wide and into the ears of a certain man

Spade walked forth, a smirk on his lips as he anticipated the meeting, his eyes checking his pocket watch once a while

'Those fools can't take anything seriously. How can they think of partying in such a time. The early bird catches the worm. They're going to miss an amazing opportunity ... they'd just leave it won't they. Luckily they have me. Those idiots don't know what they're missing'

* * *

His movements stopped as his eyes laid upon the billboard of a shop

'But... This is only worth it if this man is worth as much as the rumors say'

"There were rumors about a scientist holding a briefcase asking people if they were powerful enough to support a vassal. If you have powerful weaponry there's a subtler way of getting customers. They would have been stolen by now or you'd be roughed with. You're lucky" he said analyzing and assessing the man sitting in front of him

He did look just like what the rumors stated- baggy jeans, chubby figure, sweaty ragged clothes, unkept hair ,wearing goggles and having a huge suitcase- which he assumed were plans for whatever weaponry he'd be planning on selling. The armored suitcase looked very suspicious and sent his imagination and expectations wild- since the rumor of crowds of people failing to buy the rings from him bugged him

The man didn't look very happy to see him and sighed heavily

"Another one? How does this information pass so far? I wasn't interested in selling it!"

"I'm betting you said that the first time and people have come after you"

"Even if you calmly analyze why I'm in this situation in the first place... don't try to gloss over the fact that you're also after it"

"I'm just interested in what it's actually about. Could you give me the details about what's this for?"

"...You want to copy and create replicas don't you?"

"It's just an investigation. I got to keep up with the latest trends you know? I wouldn't bother you directly but no one's willing to let me in the details. How mean, right?"

"...It's not that they're not telling...

... They **can't**"

"What do you mean?"

The man opened his briefcase and showed its contents

"Rings? You were selling accessories?" his disbelief penetrated into his words

"And that's their reactions too"

Despite his logic telling him to leave immediately accusing the old man as a nut case, his mind nagged at him in something. He looked closer at the suitcase, feeling puzzled. So he decided to try his luck

"Why are you carrying it in that huge suitcase? That's too much security for rings. It looks more for bombs and such. I think that you'd have a sensible head on you being a scientist"

"...That's new. Hey what's your name?"

"My name's Daemon Spade. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Talbot"

"So no need for my introduction, huh? Then getting straight to it. Wear all of them. I want to see if any of them work"

"... Wait this hasn't been tested?! Are you looking for guinea pigs?!"

"It can't be replicated. It's a unique weapon"

"Of course it's unique! You're not even sure if it'll work everytime. No one would create and sell a defective product" and he felt his head ache at the current predicament

'I gave up on the party for this?!'

"It works for specific people ...I think"

"Huh?"

'You think?!'

"Stop whining and wear it! I'm not charging you for wearing it"

'I'm getting conned by an old man amn't I?! This is just a bogus salesman selling me crap! Elena! Your darling is becoming a lab rat!'

"Old man this better not be one of those 'can't take my finger off the ring' scams right"

"Don't ruin people's reputations! Honestly young people now a days don't have faith or trust-"

"Spare me the lecture"

"Hold your horses. There you go. Wear them"

He despised the mafia, he blamed it on Elena's influence, but wearing those rings made him feel like their comrade, making him shudder

'Why is that man staring at me so closely?'

"A no go huh? Return them to me. It's nice your curiosity got the best of you but I have no plans on explaining the details of this to someone it's not compatible with"

"Return?! Just what are you expecting?"

"Just forget it. Sorry"

'Something's missing. I can't let it go like this. I need more information'

"Wait a bit. At least tell me what do you mean by compatibility-"

And there was a bang with the person he never expected popping up- looking dead drunk and most vulnerable

"*Hic* Whoops. Loooks like I messsed uppp. What's *hic* wrong Daemon? You don't look happy to see me. Aww"

"...

What are you doing here Giotto?"

"I wanted to SURPRISE you! *hic*"

His cheerful boss carried on, not caring about the annoyed look sent by the purple haired man

"You were sneaking out of the party with that smug look on your face. So I got curious and *hic* FOLLOWED you!

That proud look seemed funny, so I got curious" he said joyously and his eye fell on a ring on the strategist's hand

"Daemon~ I want that one"

The other being fed up and exasperated removed the ring and tossed the ring to the golden haired male, ignoring the cries of protest from the scientist

He looked at his rings carefully for the first time after tossing one of rings to the vigelante boss

'Now that I think about it, Talbot never refused my claim on them being weapons. Maybe if I concentrate my thoughts-'

And his thoughts got sidetracked by a rather primitive sight -Giotto being fascinated by fire

"What are you -a caveman?! It's just fire... FIRE?! Giotto there's **fire **on your finger! What are you spacing out for?!

Water-water-

Wait?! How's there fire on your finger. There's fire on my finger too?! It's not burning my finger too!

Why's the flame purple?! I don't get this at all!"

"Heh-heh *hic* It's warm"

"Of course it's warm! It's fire! Wait! I don't get how it's made!"

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Talbot crying

"*sob* Thank goodness it worked! *sob* At least I could easen his burdens a bit"

"Why are you crying?! Explain this! I know you know the reason for this madness"

"I need a cape for this laser!*hic*"

"Dammit Giotto! Shut up"

"Keep the rings Daemon Spade. It seems like they're for you guys. I've been waiting for you"

"I don't care. Just **EXPLAIN THIS MADNESS**"

Midnight arrived with Daemon spending the night hearing the details about how the ring worked, with Talbot skillfully avoiding any mentions or correlations to the existence of Tsuna

Despite having doubts at the mannerisms of the old man, he accepted the explanation, dismissing his mannerism as irrevelant

He had work to do. Distribute the rings as fast as possible. It seemed like the new weapon was new in concept as well as needed time to use properly. So it was better to start as fast as possible

* * *

He reached the Vongola manor, where the rest of the vigelante would be present- probably wasted

Willing himself to alcohol stenched breadths, he entered dragging Giotto in toll

The dragging sound woke up Ugetsu who wandered to see what was going on

'Before they say anything. I must say that we're not shifting allegance to the mafia. I can bear any other misunderstanding other than that'

"Huh? Daemon? I thought you weren't going to sleep over today? You were in such a rush to leave the party. Giotto too... Man you guys missed all the fun-"

The ever observant Ugetsu's eyes landed on their fingers

"Wait! We're not-"

"That's so distant ,you guys. No leaving us out next time. Let's have another wedding party!"

'I take that back'

"We're not married! This is the official sign for the organisation. It doubles as a weapon"

'I'll convince Giotto when he's fairly sane'

"This is yours" he said tossing the blue ring to him remembering Talbot's explanation

'Have to put the insigna later. Maybe I'll toss that responsibility to that watchdog'

Then G slammed the door open ,awake from the ruckus and incredibly angry

"Can't you guys ever shut up for once?!" and his eyes fell on their fingers

"Giotto! That **asshole**! I can't believe you guys fell for it after spending so much time with him! That guy's not loyal despite acting like that. You guys got roped into this right? Has it been registered in the church? If not then it's not too late-"

"We're not married! This is the proof of the Vongola! I'll explain everything to you! Stop coming to conclusions!" and he threw the red ring to the red/pink haired male

"Then it needs an insigna-"

"I'll leave that to you. Anyway I'll tell you how to use it"

'Dammit Talbot! Why make it a ring!?' he looked at the sleeping Giotto with spite

'It's all because this guy insisted on keeping them as rings. What's with rings and capes?

After all that he's blissfully sleeping ,leaving me to explain everything'

Just after he explained the situation to him. The door slammed open again revealing the priest holding a book hoping to stop the fight hearing the noise

Then he looked at them and then finally at the position their eyes flitted to nervously and turned silent

"I've vowed to remain single. I can't join you guys. sorry"

"Who wants to get married with you?!"

And never in his whole life did Spade love or even tolerate getting so in sync with G. It left a bitter aftertaste which he intended to scrape out with all the toothpaste in the mansion.

'Will that many toothpastes be enough'

And glancing at the other, he thought

'Looks like there will be competition'

"Here, it's the Vongola ring. It gives you super power if your guts and willpower is strong"

"That's AWESOME. What? You should have told so before"

"If you guys could lend even half a ear, it'd be fine"

* * *

Then Lampo entered and looked utterly shocked

"You guys are with the mafia?! I knew it! Doffio couldn't be defeated! You attempted truce by joining them!"

"You're dissing us? Like that kind of pathetic shit could get us to kiss up to their ass. Here" G said, snatching the second last ring and throwing it to the flustered noble who fumbled until he finally caught it

"It's a sign that you're one of us. Learn how to use it"

"Huh? Use it? Then tell me how"

"You can't figure it out?"

"You're making **me **fight. Consider it an honor to help me out"

"Hmph. Giotto said it was my responsibility to not let you die a dog's death. It can't be helped"

"That's not what Giotto said, G. He said we should help each other out"

"It means the same thing Ugetsu"

"Wow, an authentic tsundere"

G looked annoyed and pointed his finger at Spade

"Whatever. Daemon. You started this. You end it. You tell Alaude"

"Hey that's not fair"

"In compensation, you can explain everything to Giotto in the morning"

An evil looking glint appeared in his eyes as he smirked and agreed

"You got yourself a deal"

If possible, he never wanted to visit or meet Alaude under his own will. But a job with a sweet deal ain't that bad

He went in front of the mansion with the entire ring box- he would not catch himself dead waving a ring in front of the policeman

Then Alaude appeared in his entire glory staring at his intruder with as much derision a human-half demigod could manage

'Why I'm **so sorry** lord for disturbing your precious beauty sleep this late in the night for no god damn reason'

He opened the box, keeping his nerves at full alert for a dodge expecting the proud man to remain deaf to his words until he catches the man's attention by showing him the ring

And surely enough the blow comes and he ducked in time

'Even if it pisses me of to think of the reason why he swung at me. I must persevere for a bit'

"Wait Alaude. You're misunderstanding-"

"I have nothing to say to the **Mafia**"

"Then wear it and see"

"I will not be coerced-"

Ignoring the policeman's argument, he slipped in the ring cringing in distaste at his actions and it lit up immediately

Then Alaude stared at the ring and seemed to understand its complex nature- It seemed as if he shared a kinship with it. He then looked at Daemon

"Hn"

And slammed the door at his face

"Why that virgin maiden! There's a limit to pride. What kind of treasure is that virgin guarding?! Hmph"

Oh well, time for the reward preparation

* * *

Giotto woke up with a headache and a a conflicting desire to stay at bed or run to the bathroom to puke the previous night's dinner

'What was I doing last night?'

And then he looked horrified at his hand

'Eh? A ring? What did I do last night?!'

He peaked out of his room and saw G strolling by and he felt cold sweat running through him

'No way! G and I?!'

Then he stayed there in his shock and received shock on shock seeing the other 3 cross him

'NO WAY! Those three?! What happened last night?! Is it registered?! I mean ya it's registered if they're wearing it... or what? Did I seduce them to that level?! Those guys?!'

And the door slammed open making Giotto stumble down to the floor leaving Daemon hovering over him, smirking and leaving Giotto paler after loonking at his hand

'Even that Daemon?!'

Then he felt his vision being clogged by something soft and light

When he moved it to get a better look at it- it was a cape

"By the way, these rings aren't wedding rings. Their rings of promise -of the future aimed by the Vongola. You basically told me that last night. It's also a weapon"

The blond haired man huffed a sigh in relief

"Thank goodness! I didn't know what to do otherwise. So what's the cape for?"

"It's your uniform. Consider it a gift from me to you. You made it a promise last night to 'use a ring with a cape to be the citizen's hero' it's your words not mine"

"... Come on, Daemon. It's just drunken babble"

"_Because of your drunken babble, I and the remaining 6 are wearing rings on our fingers. I personally made Alaude to wear one_"

"_Seriously...?_"

"Yes, seriously. So you _better take responsibility_"

"*gulp*"

"It's a gift by the way. You're not going to **refuse** and **hurt my feelings** are you?"

"No sir"

"Good"

* * *

When there is Greater Good there's always a Greater Evil. The balance was tipped from Talbot's meddling and there needed a balance

The overpowered Vongola attracted the need for greater violence from the surpressed Mafia. But they had no miracle or miracle maker like Talbot. So relied on a human-esque method. Experiment and research for a better method meant one thing: the demand for samples for successful products: fighting force

With the diminishing number of the Mafia members, there needed new fighting force. And what better way to get many- from the powerless. It wasn't so gruesome. They were taking the weak and transforming them into something strong -probably. Well if they remained weak, they were simply **disposed **like the trash they were

Then a disease was born in humanity, more like a rare plague or more specifically a demon which could rival the god of the universe. The mafia's very own manmade devil which they planned to make a cute pet off to sic it on the Vongola

But things didn't go as planned and we go back to the very beginning of this flashback

They found themselves bathing in their own blood created from the devil incarnate Rokudo Mukuro

The crimson eyes which matched the blood of the researchers, mafia grunts and victims surrounding him glinted with the desire of chaos to fill in the gap from the pain and desperation from being tortured to death and treated like trash

His chained wrists tinkled as he finally decided to ditch the place now that no more mafia members were interested in finding out what actually happened in the institution which reeked out sweat, tears and other secretions of the caged pet victims who weren't meant to see the light of another day as a price for their remaining families better lifestyle or their life themselves

Sparks from open wires from the destruction stung his skin as he barely noticed any contact, being used to such treatments

He walked forward to get into another wild ride, reminding himself to be patient to enjoy himself in the end and entered the streets looking around in wonder at the world he stepped into

The youthful lad went onwards in a random direction with his long blue hair swishing behind him hiding his red eye, as if it understood that the boy needed to be undercover if the child was really the child of fate

After some weeks, on his usual walks he saw an old man clutching to a large suitcase as if it was dear life. Really, it was bad coincidence. That the man was seen and the child's curiousity was not towards what the man was carrying in a rush, it was more towards where was the man running away from

So on reaching the sight he saw the signs of recent digging of the soil and dug the darker patches of soil and found what was hidden- pacifiers

The child thought he couldn't do a thing with baby accessories and decided to sell them. Then information circulated and the boy found himself captured by men in black and brought to a mansion of a curious and loud owner

"For goodness sakes, he's a child ,Robert. You have to treat him preciously. I just told you that I'm curious about the lad selling my ancestors' team mates and my great-great... how many times was that again? Well leaving that aside, he got their precious treasure and was planning of selling them in trivial prices, so I got curious. That's all"

The lad looked at the woman sitting in front of him feeling the hands of the people who treated him roughly ,leaving him alone.

"What do you want?"

"Hmm? How impatient. I just wanted to chat with you"

"So? What do you want?"

"Cutting to the chase, huh? But it wasn't a lie that I wanted to chat with you. Ok, I'll be frank seeing that you don't seem like you like conversations

Something happened when you got the pacifiers. I was to die a week ago. I had been diagnosed with terminal illness after all. But all of a sudden ...I got well. Enough to actually execute my wedding plan

I want to use whatever method you used to increase my lifespan to actually hold my wedding"

"What's in it for me?"

"Information. We keep track of our ancestors properly and what you have in your hands... Don't tell me you're not interested in finding out more. If not then haah... it's the usual wealth,fame-"

"Isn't it obvious ,I want all the information. And add in access to your full resources when I'm reading through your information. Do we have a deal?"

"Fine. Now show me"

He rummaged through his shirt and threw some pieces. He then took off his shirt and peeled a layer and dumped the contents

"Piece it together. There's no information missing"

"...Why you shrewd brat. You had no intention in giving the information for free in the beginning, even if I used the bodyguard to get that information by force"

"If you did that. I would have burnt my shirt. I have a lighter"

"You should have take care of yourself better"

"Don't worry. If I wanted to, I could _destroy_ you in an instant "

The woman didn't laugh or show any expression making the lad a bit pleased that his warning was heeded

The information from the mansion lead to a dangerous inference and the thrill of chaos for the boy who came up with a plan to distract the creator from noticing what was going on behind the scenes .The goal was: The transfer of power and the abolition of monopoliztion by the creation of the trinisette

It turned out, just as Tsuna had been doing research to find out more about the pacifiers, the cunning retainers of the Sepira family lineage stole research information on the side when cleaning up the abode of resistance without the knowledge of the owner

"Do you want to free your grandfather from the burdens of the pacifier?"

"Of course! I always see him with a slumped back worried about the current status of our family or the pacifiers or the result from the pacifier as it affects the world balance"

"I also wanted to help him after hearing about him from the retainers"

"I knew it. You instinctively want to be his strength right?"

"Yes. You really understand. So I've been thinking how about we share the pacifiers among strong people so that your burden get shared? Think about it, the power got transferred to you mostly because it was shared among you two"

"You're right! I'll note it down in the logs immediately so that it can be used by the further generations. Mukuro-chan, you're really sweet you know!"

And thus the head was manipulated into attending the eternal cycle of the to be formed arcobaleno, with the manipulator of the contestants temporarily taken up by Mukuro, even though it was obvious that it used less sacrifices to maintain a powerful device between a practical god and a human. It was obvious that the human would die though. But human greed does things to people

So in the 5 years of gathering information of the creator and the pacifier, the child knew all there should be known to destroy or more realistically, incapacitate a worn down powerful being

So he grew the seed of doubt of having yet another element of sure death more powerful than the Vongola- the idea of a righteous god down on earth. And there's no one more trustworthy than an insider- especially from the powerful Mare famiglia

The already scared, cornered mafia bit down the bite from his hand easily and followed his instructions to the T without getting any questions on the legitimacy or the source of his information and drove the creator from his house. Meanwhile, the pacifiers were buried in a safe in a labyrinth used for it's difficulty and trials were sent to the powerful 6 of Italia who solved them for the rich rewards as well as the challenge in solving them

The rage blinded Vendice never strayed their eyes from Tsuna and the curious Alaude never let his eyes wander. Vongola remained blind to the activities being hosted. Rumors surrounded the existence of Tsuna overshadowing the 2nd most popular but less interesting news on the tests for 6 most powerful individuals

**Plans ran smoothly for the child of fate**

**While Tsuna enjoyed his time in prison, blissfully unaware of the mess he'd soon be pulled into**


	5. Chapter 5

**Immortality isn't all that it's cut out to be**

**Chapter 1: Life's lemons**

The life of someone could be like that of a clock. If it was like an hourglass, it could be even more simple. You know when the time runs out

When the sand runs out, one's life should end, right? If it is flipped, what happens to the person? Isn't that the more interesting question?

Sawada Tsunayoshi was a human who experienced that. His hourglass always flipped when it ended, so his heartbeat renewed every time. He also had the displeasure of experiencing childhood and adulthood all over again.

He achieved immortality

Now, that was something out of a fairy tale right? Because it didn't seem fair for a person to achieve that, even if there was a saying like 'Life ain't fair'

But Life is a faithful mistress to lemons and throws only lemons at people.

So the fantasy setting turned sour quick

The child had a month's period to live. What did that mean? Wasn't he immortal?

* * *

Here's how his story began

Tsunayoshi was born into a noble family in the seventeenth century. His birth was a joyous celebration with his both parents putting up balls and inviting visitors to see the baby.

He was pampered and cooed upon by many people. He was the topic at every dinner. It was the very meaning of being born with a silver spoon in one's mouth

Dressed in frilly clothes, fanned and even given his own personal maids. A scratch wasn't allowed on his body and he wasn't given the opportunity to cry. Or they'd get fired. That's how much he was doted upon down

Auburn eyes were destined to look down on the world as he was to be carried to the peak via palanquins. He was to be literally carried to the top by his parents' coattails, knowing no difficulty

That was for the first week of his life

The very next day

People shrieked and scuttled around the house as they searched for destiny's baby. No, he was not kidnapped. There was a naked teenager on the cradle

Hell broke out. The teen was captured and brought to the parents while the rest rushed to different areas to contact polices and other families. It was a big ruckus with the force surveying every nook and corner for a child.

Notices for high rewards for returning the child was put up

The teen looked confused at the way he was treated. He was made to kneel down in front of them as their stern faces faced his

Profanities and fingers were tossed at him as he was brought for his judgment

"Where is my child?! How did you enter here?!"

They had brought some clothes for the intruder. They couldn't really hold a serious conversation with a naked boy. It would be a rather awkward situation

The boy kept his silence and looked so clueless that they just tossed him into the streets in the end

Looking around, the boy looked as lost as he looked before and could only run when he stayed there after being tossed out by vicious maids

The brunette moved across the streets and entered different buildings, as a result of his previous life... that of a pampered baby who was taken to different places to visit and be shown off too

He... was the missing baby...

Nevertheless, he was chased out of the buildings and made to run in the streets by people as furious as the mob

He had tried imitating people in the buildings

Tsuna entered buildings and sat on sofas and took the kettle to pour himself and the other tea as he saw the people living inside do when he entered the places. He giggled when he saw people giving him a nervous laugh and smile

Conversations were one-sided as the other did strange things like try balancing the kettle on his head when the other tried to get the other to leave

Then the child would try to explore the place as he pleased. He would try to share his joy to the others, his childish innocence winning them over for a couple more hours before they got to their senses about the teenager being an intruder who made himself a home at their places

He tried juggling the food on the table like the street performers. It was also the time when he developed a weapon... his violin playing. It shrieked and made sound waves capable of destroying one's ears and brain. That's when he was chased off

Seeing that people preferred to talk sweetly to those with lumps in their chest, one of his endeavors was that of stuffing as many oranges in his chest. Because more meant better right? He was feared by the townspeople for that incident. The police couldn't bring themselves to touch him because of the ridiculous way he looked

What caught his interest more was the parkour of the young thieves in the town and became their teammate unknowingly. And became a kind of Robinhood. Well, all he thought was that the people in those houses looked sad. And on eating the things the people who walked along walls got from those people in the colorful houses (the markets) they become happy

He didn't eat since he had become part of the thieves because of similar occurrences. He thinned out

He became the leader of the thieves because of how touching his actions seemed. Not that he knew

It was obvious that the boy wasn't interested in material things and was seeking human companionship, which was rare in any century or timeline. He learned bits and pieces of human conversation too, along with the interactions with other people due to his growing brain and continuous exposure

* * *

After a week, he had turned to an adult of twenty, losing the innocent look he had when he was just a teen. He looked more beautiful and more attractive

He looked at the room filled with roses on top of a bedroom. There was a woman who had talked very sweetly to him and he had been pulled him along without knowing anything at all

She smelled like the scent wafting across the room as she stripped...

To an outsider, it seemed like a perfect setting for sex. But the man was actually a 3 week baby in mentality. Looking it that way, it seemed like pedophilia...

Then some other women entered. Apparently, they had come on to him for some fun. Tsuna's eyes glittered on the mention of fun...

Things aren't meant to be taken literally...

Riding means something different!

Vanilla... Please don't get me started

It was a fun night for the brunette... It's better to just sympathize with the women

The next day, he stumbled into a public library and found picture books. It brought sparkles into his eyes. It brought something else to the eyes of the others who had the misfortune of seeing a grown adult reading picture books for babies

The library became a favorite place for the brunette... he'd try everything he'd see there. Even if it meant catapulting himself to towers to 'save' princesses... Or live orchestras with violins... Or trying turn people to stone or gold by touching or looking at them... Or seeing if someone can do that... ultimately wooing them unconsciously...

The next week, he became an old man around the age of a grandfather. His eccentric behavior was that of a senile person so, his days consisted of 'playing tag' with the police as they wanted to put him in the retirement or old-age homes and reading books. He couldn't try many things because he felt tired most of the time

The next week he found himself as a baby who was immediately recognized as the heir of the noble family and brought back to the family. He was immediately gushed upon and the knowledge he acquired from the streets were appraised highly. He was treated as a genius and been assigned tutors, being seen as a potential to lead the family to greater sides

This was the life of Sawada Tsunayoshi in the seventeenth century. He was a person who changed into a baby, teen, adult and old man in irregular short intervals

Life gives only lemons after all


End file.
